20.12.2011
The Christmas holidays and the New Year affect the waste container emptying schedules across the country to some extent. As only a few of the holidays occur on a weekday, changes are smaller than a year earlier.
However, the waste containers may still fill in more quickly than usual because of larger quantities of waste. The weather may also retard the emptying schedules. Keeping the waste collection point neat and tidy benefits both the users and the waste collection personnel.
“The waste container should not be overfilled. Similarly, the route to the waste container must be kept clear of snow and well lighted to prevent the waste collectors from slipping and to prevent other accidents,” says Hanna Huttunen, environmental management specialist at L&T.
To keep the waste containers and shelters neat and tidy and easy to clear, attention should be paid to ways of avoiding excess waste. It is advisable to sort waste carefully, to fold large packages to fit into a small space, and to store papers, cardboard, glass and metal indoors until the emptying schedules return to normal. To reduce the amount of waste, decisions can be made at the point of purchase to buy reusable and durable goods that contain a minimum amount of packing materials.
Sorting facilitates waste material recovery. Returning recycled materials to the industry as raw materials helps reduce the amount of landfill waste and the environmental stress caused by landfill sites. If waste materials cannot be reused as raw materials, they may be used as a subsidiary fuel in the industry to replace fossil fuels such as coal, which cause greenhouse gas emissions.