At the sorting sites in Panevėžys, new containers for food scraps have finally started to be built, although the residents of some apartment buildings still do not have a place to put such waste before throwing it away.
This week, new brown ones for food waste have also started to be built next to the waste sorting containers. However, not all residents of apartment buildings have yet received the necessary buckets.
When the presidents of some houses refuse to help distribute the sorting buckets, residents are offered to take care of them themselves.
As an elderly woman who did not want to reveal her name told “Sekunde”, we should start sorting food waste as early as next week, but the residents of their apartment building did not receive the buckets bought by the Panevėžys city municipality.
A few days ago, the woman contacted the chairman of the house, but she heard from her that it is not up to her to take care of the buckets.
“It was explained to me that the chairwoman doesn’t have time to pick up buckets – such work is not the function of the chairperson. And she was also surprised if there would really be people willing to sort waste in our house”, – the chairman’s attitude surprised the elderly woman.
According to the woman, although a considerable number of neighbors really put all their waste in one bucket, there are certainly those who carefully sort the garbage.
She herself tries to ensure that as little waste as possible enters the mixed waste container. Therefore, I am determined to find a place at home for a bucket for food waste.
“I really don’t want to get fined for not sorting waste. And I really don’t understand those who constantly cry that waste disposal is getting more expensive, but they themselves do not contribute to the reduction of unsorted waste. However, how will it be necessary to separate the waste when the residents of our house did not receive those buckets?” – the woman from Panevėžys cannot understand.
Not everyone agreed to help
Justina Indulytė, communications specialist of Panevėžio specialus autotransportas company, said that the official start of food waste sorting is on May 1, if there is already a brown container placed in the waste areas, and kitchen waste can be thrown into it.
If the residents have not received a brown bucket for sorting this waste by that day, they should contact the chairman or administrator of their house. It is likely that the buckets are already with them, but not yet distributed.
“The situation changes every day – perhaps the chairman of the house took the buckets, but he has not yet distributed them to the residents,” reassured the specialist. –
Of course, not all chairmen or administrators agreed to contribute to the distribution of buckets. According to the latest data, sorting measures have not yet been received by 16 multi-apartment houses, whose chairpersons have not expressed their desire to participate in the distribution. We respect their decision and we will look for ways to transfer food and kitchen waste sorting equipment to the residents of these apartment buildings.”
According to her, those who did not receive the buckets should contact the company “Panevėžio specialus autotransportas” themselves.
“You can call us by phone and the consultant will explain in more detail how to collect the bucket,” he assured.
According to J. Indulytė, more than 33,000 sorting buckets have been distributed out of 44,000 purchased. And brown containers for food waste will appear at every site.
A total of 191 sorting containers are planned to be built. Another 7,580 containers will be distributed to residents of individual houses.
The residents of Panevėžys, who noticed the new containers for food waste being built in the courtyards of apartment buildings, not all of them grabbed buckets to collect them.
There will be no bags
Some residents of Panevėžys were surprised that they received only buckets for sorting kitchen waste.
Although it is strongly requested to put kitchen waste in bags and tie them tightly to minimize the unpleasant smell from the container on warm days, waste bags were not included in the sorting kit, unlike in the capital, in Panevėžys.
As Rūta Taučikienė, the chief specialist of the Urban Infrastructure Department of the City Municipality, explained, Panevėžys has chosen a somewhat different food waste sorting model than the people of Vilnius, and therefore the means for this purpose are also different.
“Vilnius chose to distribute bags because it does not have a separate container where only food and kitchen waste can be thrown.” All this waste, placed in orange bags, is thrown into the mixed municipal waste container. In the mechanical and biological processing facilities, those bags are separated by color,” explained R. Taučikienė.
And Panevėžys decided to collect food waste and throw it in separate buckets and containers intended only for that purpose. Therefore, you can use any bag – plastic or paper. To promote sustainability, it is recommended to use bags that have accumulated in the household.
“Since we have a separate line for kitchen waste, we allow you to use any bag. It is not necessary to buy them – you often have them at home. All bags will be torn open and separated from biodegradable waste”, R. Taučikienė explained.
It can last even half a year
According to Panevėžys Regional Waste Management Center (PRATC) director Gintautas Ulis, the operating permit should be approved in the coming days and it will be possible to start a food waste sorting line at the landfill located in the village of Dvariinkai.
It is planned that the amount of recyclable food waste should grow gradually – people will still need time to get used to this innovation. Especially since not all sorting tools have been distributed.
“The sorting tools have already reached everyone in the districts, and the city is still planning to distribute individual houses to residents. Therefore, the quantities will change, but the maximum could be up to four tons per year”, predicts the director of PRATC.
Waste bags that have entered the sorting line will be shredded by the device, but to shake them out, according to G. Ulios, human resources will be needed. Then the drums will sift the waste and all the impurities will go to the sorting booth.
The next stage will be degassing and fermentation tunnels. Finally, maturation to produce the final product, compost.
This whole process can take up to half a year.
“Of course, the final product will have to meet all the requirements for compost in order to be used for various purposes. It will be perfect for managing the environment, but if we are talking about growing plants, perhaps it should be strengthened, add peat or other components”, – what will the food waste of Panevėžys become, said G. Ulys.
It takes time to get used to it
According to the director of PRATC, if 4,000 tons of kitchen waste could be collected per year, the amount of waste in mixed containers would be reduced by the same amount. About 40,000 tons of mixed waste arrive at the Panevėžys regional landfill per year.
“Those few thousand will not bring drastic changes, but it will affect the quality of the waste itself. When mixed containers contain less wet waste, the structure of all waste will change. This is also a positive factor”, emphasizes G. Ulys.
As the interviewer points out, the waste sorting process is still covered in myths, which seem to be used to justify why it is not sorted. But practice shows that people just need time to get used to it.
“For example, we see that the amount of textile waste is constantly increasing, there are new sorting habits and an understanding of why it is necessary to do it – especially when residents see that the benefits really exist. And everyone feels better when they contribute to waste sorting. Of course, the costs of waste management are also extremely important, so that fees for waste management do not grow so quickly,” says G. Ulys.
