Since 2018, mass protests have been going on in Russia against landfills. They are especially strong in the Arkhangelsk region and in the suburbs.
Russian Technologies Corporation estimates that 31 billion tons of waste has accumulated in Russian landfills. Each year, another 70 million is added to this figure. Half of the contents at the landfills are recyclables that can be recycled (in practice, only 8% is recycled). According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, for every Russian there are 400 kg of garbage.
Separate collection is not popular in Russia. At the state level, this is due to the economic factor: it is cheaper to remove waste to landfills than to recycle and burn: it costs 760 rubles to recycle a ton of garbage.
Only 50 waste sorting complexes and 250 processing plants operate in our country (there are ten times less waste incinerators). There are no plants with a full processing cycle. Garbage landfills occupy thousands of hectares: in Moscow and the region alone there are 23 dumps per 608 ha.
One of the largest landfills in the world and the largest in Europe is also ours: the landfill “Timokhovo“(Near the town of Elektrougli and the village named after Vorovsky, Noginsky district) covers 114 hectares.
Environmental issues are becoming more acute. For the secondary use of raw materials or their burning, an effective sorting system must be made, as in Europe, the USA and Asia. It was similar in the USSR when schoolchildren handed over waste paper and glass containers.
Why sort garbage
- Sorting reduces the number of landfills that occupy the space needed for agriculture, construction or life.
- Separate collection improves the environment: recycling, sorting and landfill facilities become smaller – air, soil and water around are clean.
- Sorting at the level of residential buildings and yards facilitates the processing of garbage. You can give a second life to more raw materials..
All this reduces the cost of maintaining landfills and makes cheaper the cost of goods due to the reuse of plastic, paper or iron. Old resources are returned to the production cycle.
What kind of garbage is sorted and recycled
- Paper / waste paper – cardboard without impurities, newspapers, magazines, postcards, books, office paper, packaging.
- Metal – aluminum and cans, metal lids.
- Glass – bottles and jars (of-under drinks and food), cullet.
- Plastic – bottles, bottles for household chemicals and shampoos, cans, plastic bottles for dairy products. Plastic caps for bottles and Tetra Pak (packaging for milk and juice) must be assembled separately. There is plastic that cannot be recycled – look at marking.
They also sort mixed waste (cardboard with additives or cellophane), hazardous waste (thermometers, batteries, bulbs, batteries), biodegradable products (food debris).
How to start sorting trash
The first step is organizing
Open at least five containers: for plastic, paper, glass, aluminum and for unsorted waste (organic matter or that which is not recycled at all). You can store all types of garbage in one place, but at the collection point (or in the yard, if there are sorting containers), you still have to lay out the garbage in tanks.
Second step – determine where to put containers
Optimal – a balcony, dressing room or stairwell. If there is not enough space, then leave a container in the kitchen for not sortable garbage, and in the corridor – a box for what is prepared for delivery. Make inscriptions on containers so that everyone in the family understands why each container is needed.
The third step is to find out where the collection tanks or collection points are
Otherwise, you will quickly accumulate a mountain of waste and a lack of understanding of what to do with it. About there how to look for points of reception we will say below.
The fourth step is to reduce waste
The less garbage you have, the easier it is to sort. Try to refuse one-time packaging, store food in the right conditions and plan purchases for the long term.
Say no to plastic bags from stores (shopping bags or fabric bags are more environmentally friendly). Do not use disposable tableware; offer your thermos mug when taking takeaway coffee. Switch to natural products for cleaning, body care, buy products by weight.
Sorting and recycling is not a solution to the environmental problem. We must try to reduce waste in general. This is a personal task for everyone..
How to sort garbage correctly
Determine if garbage can be recycled.
Many types of garbage can not be recycled, for example: plastic cutlery, chips, diapers, toilet paper, tea bags, packages for mayonnaise and sauces, cotton buds, tubes of toothpaste, paper cups.
Non-recyclable waste must also be taken to collection points for incineration (but not everyone accepts it) and try to use such items less.
Pack garbage compactly
Compress tetrapacks, tamp the plastic and tin containers (bottles can be twisted, and cans can be flattened), separately assemble the caps. Fasten the packaging with an elastic band or use the principle of a nested doll – fold small containers into large ones.
Clean containers from food or liquids
At points of reception do not take containers with organic residues. Rinse cans and bottles immediately after use, dry and peel labels. Do not pull, otherwise the waste of a liter of water per package will make the processing of raw materials impractical.
Fold clean and compressed recyclables in a large bag and take them to the nearest point. Do not use garbage bags to collect.
Do not dispose of hazardous waste.
Light bulbs and batteries decompose for hundreds of years and poison nature, so they should not be thrown away. Collect and take them to separate collection points for safe disposal. Sometimes tanks for such waste are in shopping centers or at gas stations.
How to make garbage sorting more convenient
- It is important to be compact when sorting. Previously, waste was collected in separate boxes, now you can buy one container with compartments – they are made Joseph Joseph. Plus, such a container is convenient, minus the price. Alternative – IKEA, take there a few containers and supports for them (see complementary goods).
- Electric kitchen composters will make fertilizer from organic waste. They are fully automated, odorless and take up little space. Another option is to buy a mixture of microorganisms (liquid or granules) or a box (vermicomposter) with earthworms that will help make fertilizer for giving.
- If there is not enough space for sorted waste, buy a trash compactor. A manual or electronic press will halve the contents of the trash.
- In the United States, a food chopper, a disposer, is very popular. It is for sale with us. Mount it in the sink instead of a siphon.
Reception of sorted garbage
On the site recyclemap.ru You can find garbage collection points in the place where you live. Indicate your city or exact address, select a category of waste (for example, only light bulbs or paper) and see the location of the item.
If you want to organize the sorting of garbage in your yard, go to garbage separation.rf (project “People together – garbage separately”) and myecodvor.rf (All-Russian project “EcoDvor”).
There you will receive useful recommendations on how to attract residents of your area or city to the problem of garbage and how to communicate with the management company in order to achieve the appearance of sorting yard bins.
How to sort garbage in Russia
On January 1, 2019, the law on separate collection of garbage – “garbage reform” came into force in Russia. The goal is to transform waste management. In each region, an operator for the treatment of solid waste is selected on a competitive basis. He can be alone in the region / city or share the work area with another. The tasks of such companies (243 are currently selected in Russia) include the search for waste management organizations, the provision of conditions for the separate collection of garbage, and the elimination of illegal landfills.
Territorial electronic maps should also appear – road schemes for waste management, where all containers, landfills, sorting stations and processing plants are indicated. Garbage trucks will be equipped with a navigation system for a regional operator to track the movement of vehicles and the amount of waste collected online.
As part of the reform, funds were allocated for the reconstruction and construction of facilities for waste management, for the purchase of containers, and for the transport of garbage. The responsibility of manufacturers for packaging materials has been tightened and waste has been divided into groups with different processing tariffs. It is planned that by 2020 there will be a state system for the accounting of household waste.
How to sort garbage in other countries
In Japan
Legal entities that organize the sorting or processing of production waste themselves pay less tax in Japan. An individual for sorting receives a discount when paying utility bills. Waste according to the law is divided into 4 categories: incinerated (from the residues that did not burn up, fill new islands), bulky, recyclable and biological.
General garbage collection in metal bins is allowed only for tourists. The Japanese themselves sort by packages and follow the collection schedule, which is set individually in each city.
In Germany
Garbage sorting is registered at the legislative level: a special police department monitors the dumping of bags in different containers and writes fines to violators.
You can make money on waste: schoolchildren are paid to collect and sort other people’s garbage, and when they return the bottles to stores, consumers get their security deposit on hand.
Garbage collection points are located in residential buildings (only for clean paper and organics), churches, parking lots and shops. There are also quarterly tanks where they separately store glass, cardboard, packaging materials and about 10 more types of waste.
In Switzerland
Each owner or tenant of real estate receives a book with categories of sorted garbage (and there are about fifty of them). In each house, metal, paper, glass, and organics are sorted. The country’s main trend is plastic processing.
Plastic garbage is sorted by quality and color, and bottle caps and cans are placed separately. Some types of waste must be transported to a landfill or to a collection station near stores. For violations, a fine in the region of $ 10,000.
In Sweden
Energy from processing is the main source of food in the country where the authorities plan to abandon gas and oil and are already buying garbage from neighboring states (Russia is also considering selling garbage to Sweden).
In Sweden, two types of glass are allocated for sorting, biological waste, plastic, metal, cardboard with paper and unsortable categories of garbage.
Street reception stations are automated: the waste is sucked in and sent for processing along an underground path. There are stations in shopping centers. Wrong waste disposal punishable by heavy fines.
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How can we effectively sort garbage to make our hometown cleaner? What are the best practices for sorting different types of waste? Are there any specific recycling centers or facilities in our area that can handle different types of recyclables? Any tips or resources to guide us in reducing waste and promoting a cleaner environment?