Municipality digs through citizens' waste: Here is what we often sort incorrectly

**Municipality sorts through citizens' waste:** Here's what we often sort incorrectly

Vejen Municipality has sorted more than a thousand kilos of residual waste from private homes to see how much was sorted correctly.

It is this pile of residual waste that employees in Vejen Municipality have re-sorted. Here are 1159 kilos of trash. (Photo: © JHN Processor)

By

Malene Ruwald ( [email protected] ) 36 minutes ago

Plastic, glass, cans, food, and then there is also the residual waste.

Most of us now have a great many options when we need to dispose of our trash. But how often do we actually choose the right one?

- I was surprised by the amounts of food waste and plastic. We found a lot of both in the residual waste. That actually surprises me, says May-Britt Heissel Skov, waste consultant in Vejen Municipality.

In Vejen Municipality, some employees set out to find out what is being sorted incorrectly. Therefore, they sorted nearly 1,200 kilos of residual waste from 393 private homes in Vejen Municipality.

It took three employees four full days to sort the more than a thousand kilos of trash. One of them was May-Britt Heissel Skov.

- It is tremendously exciting to get to do this, and the figures show that there is potential in the residual waste that can be pulled over for recycling, she says.

The result of the sorting shows that half of the trash that was thrown in the residual waste from single-family house areas should have ended up in another bin so it can be recycled.

From apartments, nearly 60 percent of the trash was thrown out incorrectly.

See what was sorted incorrectly:

* The largest types of incorrectly sorted waste in both single-family houses and apartments are food waste and food in packaging. In apartment buildings, 20 percent of the incorrectly sorted waste is in the food waste category. (Photo: © JHN Processor)

* Garden waste is the third most incorrectly sorted type of waste in the study in Vejen. Bags with leaves, moss, and large branches must be taken to the recycling center. (Photo: © JHN Processor)

* There was hard and soft plastic in virtually all residual waste bags. How to sort varies from municipality to municipality. In Vejen, soft and hard plastic are sorted in the same bin. (Photo: © JHN Processor)

* 2.2 percent of the incorrectly sorted waste in Vejen was clothing. Textiles that are whole, clean, and nice must be handed in for reuse, while textiles that are holey and dirty must be thrown out as textile waste. (Photo: © JHN Processor)

* Bags with syringes were found, both with and without caps. They must never go in the residual waste but must be handed in at the pharmacy. Most pharmacies can provide an approved container for storing syringes. (Photo: © JHN Processor)

1 / 5 The largest types of incorrectly sorted waste in both single-family houses and apartments are food waste and food in packaging. In apartment buildings, 20 percent of the incorrectly sorted waste is in the food waste category. (Photo: © JHN Processor) 1 / 5 Garden waste is the third most incorrectly sorted type of waste in the study in Vejen. Bags with leaves, moss, and large branches must be taken to the recycling center. (Photo: © JHN Processor) 2 / 5 There was hard and soft plastic in virtually all residual waste bags. How to sort varies from municipality to municipality. In Vejen, soft and hard plastic are sorted in the same bin. (Photo: © JHN Processor) 3 / 5 2.2 percent of the incorrectly sorted waste in Vejen was clothing. Textiles that are whole, clean, and nice must be handed in for reuse, while textiles that are holey and dirty must be thrown out as textile waste. (Photo: © JHN Processor) 4 / 5 Bags with syringes were found, both with and without caps. They must never go in the residual waste but must be handed in at the pharmacy. Most pharmacies can provide an approved container for storing syringes. (Photo: © JHN Processor) 5 / 5

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Myth must be thrown out

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The goal is for the study to be used to change citizens' habits, so that more of the waste that ends up in the residual waste bin goes to the right place and can be recycled.

- It is difficult to change habits, we are aware of that. But we hope that now that we know what is being thrown out incorrectly, we here at the municipality can help change those habits, says May-Britt Heissel Skov, waste consultant in Vejen Municipality.

It is the municipalities' responsibility to handle citizens' waste, so the number of categories into which the waste must be divided also varies from municipality to municipality.

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Are you in doubt? Here you will find (some of) the answers

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How clean does it need to be? You do not need to rinse packaging with water. The most important thing is that the packaging is empty and does not contain large amounts of food residue. For example, a half-full ketchup bottle is not acceptable.

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How much do I need to disassemble it? As much as you are able to. But for example, you may leave the lid on a jam jar. Some packaging has instructions on how much to disassemble, e.g., certain types of trays for butter and spreads.

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What do I do when I am in doubt? The best solution in that case is residual waste - but be careful not to throw things in the residual waste that should have gone to, e.g., hazardous waste! Half-empty packaging with, e.g., paint or chemicals must go to hazardous waste.

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Are there any packaging types that often trick people, that I should be extra aware of? Chip bags, coffee bags, and similar packaging can be made in different ways that require different sorting, so look at the package itself to see if it is plastic or residual waste. For pizza boxes, the rule of thumb is that if it is greasy and dirty, it should go in the residual waste - but some municipalities have opened up for it to go with paper/cardboard if it is completely free of food residue.

Source: The trade association Cirkulær

A myth that the waste consultant almost always encounters when she gives presentations in housing associations is that the waste ends up in the same place anyway.

But she would like to throw that myth in the trash once and for all.

- It does not all end up being mixed together anyway. The garbage trucks are designed just like your waste bin with divided compartments, so sorting your waste does make a difference, May-Britt Heissel Skov states.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has calculated how much waste sorting matters, and they find that when one household sends their household waste for recycling instead of incineration, it corresponds to an energy saving equal to the entire household's energy consumption for the washing machine, tumble dryer, and dishwasher.

*The Earth Calls:* The problem with plastic? ( https://www.dr.dk/drtv/episode/jorden-kalder_-problemet-med-plastik_503180 ) SEASON 2 EPISODE 4 | 23M

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