Finland recycles 99% of its municipal solid waste, with only 1% going to landfills.

The country recycles 95% of its plastic waste into energy at a plant in Riihimäki.

Finland aims to recycle 80% of plastic waste, aided by its automated waste sorting systems like MetroTaifun.

The Netherlands has effective waste sorting and recycling systems, burning non-recyclable waste to generate energy.

Germany has a 98% recycling rate and implements Extended Producer Responsibility laws to promote recycling.

Austria has effective waste sorting and recycling systems and offers a 50% subsidy for electronic product repairs to reduce e-waste.

Japan has a highly effective waste sorting and recycling system, with local governments largely responsible for waste management.

The Japanese government has promoted waste sorting and recycling through education.

South Korea has a mature waste recycling system with over 50% recycling rate, using priced garbage bags for different materials.

Taiwan has a well-established waste reduction framework, achieving a 58.03% recycling rate in Hsinchu County.

Singapore aims to reduce waste disposal by 30% by 2030 through its integrated waste management system.

The European Union aims for 55% municipal waste and 65% packaging waste recycling by 2025, targets already met by countries like Finland.

Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, and Slovenia have effective waste sorting and recycling systems, with Belgium charging for garbage bags.

Government plays a crucial role in promoting waste sorting and recycling, as seen in countries like Finland, Japan, and South Korea.

Implementing automated waste sorting and recycling systems, like those in Finland and Japan, requires significant investment and adaptation to regional economic conditions, funding, public awareness, and government support.

Finland recycles 99% of its municipal solid waste, with only 1% going to landfills.

Title:

Content: Finland is the European leader in municipal solid waste recycling
Today, 11: 56 AM
Photo: vantaanenergia.fi
It took a little more than 20 years for Finland to almost completely abandon the landfill of solid municipal waste.
At the same time, giant landfills, even if they are closed, are not reclaimed here, in the Russian sense of the word, but turned into a source of income.
Currently, 99% of the country ’ s garbage is sorted and recycled.
Only 1% of the total amount of MSW produced has a chance to end up in a landfill.
One of the largest closed landfills is located in the satellite city of Helsinki – Espoo.
Its area is comparable to 280 football fields and is almost 200 hectares.
It is not surprising that after the closure, an industrial center was formed on its territory, in which enterprises for the generation of electricity and heat from landfill gas, as well as enterprises engaged in the processing of certain types of secondary raw materials (waste paper and glass) are concentrated.
In Ekpoo is the headquarters of the famous Finnish energy company Fortum.
It occupies a special place in the circular economy of waste.
In particular, it is engaged in the processing of plastic.
Up to 95% of the plastic in the waste generated by the Finns goes to its plant in another satellite city of Helsinki, Riihimäki.
Here, in automated production, plastic is sorted, cleaned, crushed and granulated.
According to experts, about 22 percent of all plastic waste is recycled in Finland.
The maximum percentage of plastic that can be recycled reaches about 80 percent, and they are striving to come to this figure in the coming years.
Non-recyclable plastic waste enters the furnace, where during combustion, heat is released, which, thanks to turbines and a water heating system, becomes electricity and hot water.
Containers without garbage trucks and five containers on chips
One often hears the astonished stories of relatives and friends living in St. Petersburg about how separate garbage collection is organized in Helsinki.
Visiting the Finnish capital in recent years has not been difficult.
Of course, a simple tourist is not up to landfills and thoughts about where and who takes waste, but there is something that will not remain without the attention of travelers.
A resident of St. Petersburg, Alexander often went on business trips to the capital of Finland, Helsinki.
He says that in some neighborhoods of the city there are containers that are not serviced by garbage trucks.
Our company for business trips often rented apartments, garbage from them had to be taken out by yourself.
You know, it is very unusual, not only to sort waste into five types (biomass, paper, mixed waste, cardboard and plastic), how much to understand that the containers are equipped with sensors that, when filled, report this to the waste control panel and the garbage is pumped out of the container via a pneumatic pipe, immediately getting to the recycling point.
Not everyone has access to such containers, but only residents of the microdistrict, since a special key-chip is needed to open it, - Alexander.
Such a waste sorting and collection system has been developed and implemented by the Finnish company Marimatic.
The technology is called MetroTaifun.
So far, it is only available in one suburb of the capital.
As its developers write, the entire system is automated, from each container its own pneumatic pipe delivers waste directly to the plant, where when raw materials arrive, its processing begins (additional sorting, grinding, pressing, etc.).
Perhaps, this will look like in the future the treatment of municipal waste in large megacities.
It's tomorrow's business.
What's today?
Large metropolis surrounded by recycling facilities
The peculiarity of the “garbage reform ” in Finland is that the country started it later than other European countries, so it could take advantage of other people ’ s experience and avoid mistakes.
The main thing on which the bet was made was to find ways to prevent waste from reaching landfills.
To do this, a separate collection of waste was introduced, which captured not only container sites and households, but also stores, as well as the manufacturers of goods themselves.
In cities, waste-free fast food and restaurants are not uncommon, hundreds of entrepreneurs find new niches for the use of secondary resources (for example, they produce fabrics from threads of previously used things), open second-hand and much more.
In almost every shopping center there are vending machines for receiving containers.
Around Helsinki, in its cities satellites built a network of sorting stations.
They specialize in certain types of waste.
All stations are located almost within the city limits.
Organic waste, which is usually the source of the garbage smell, is immediately taken to the plant for composting.
The whole process here is automated and produced in containers isolated from the environment.
Residents of neighboring high-rise buildings do not even think about what kind of object for sorting, recycling or recycling is located nearby.
The strict sanitary and environmental standards adopted in the country do not give any chance for environmental pollution.
Unsorted waste and so-called "tails" in the metropolitan area are taken to the incinerator in Vantaa.
There, the first incineration line was launched in 2014, the second in 2020.
The construction was not cheap - 300 million euros.
The plant is operated by Vantaan Energia.
Every day it receives up to 150 tons of waste.
According to the company on the website, the plant can burn up to 400 cubic meters of waste per second.
Every five seconds, he burns the annual volume of garbage produced by a Finnish family of three.
The German technology known as the Düsseldorf System is used here: the combustion temperature is about 1000 degrees Celsius, from the waste receiving bin it enters the rolls, where it is crushed and gradually lowered into the combustion chamber.
Thus, the filtration system eliminates harmful emissions.
Every year about 700 tons of various materials, mostly heavy metals, are extracted from flue gases and disposed of by Ekokem in Riihimäki (another suburb of Helsenki).
Slag is exported to the Emmassuo landfill, and gravel bottom slag is used in earthworks.
Now the company is testing a technology that allows the use of the ash formed.
The main difference from the German analogue - ignition is made by gas, not fuel oil.
The plant has built a bunker that allows you to store waste in reserve so that the technological process does not stop.
After all, the incinerator is also a thermal power plant, which produces 920 gigawatt hours of district heating per year, which is almost half of the needs of the city of Vantaa, and 600 gigawatt hours of electricity, which is 30% of the needs of Vantaa per year.
According to environmentalists, such production is more economical refers to resources, since fossil fuels are practically not used here.
The combined effect of producing such a volume of heat and electricity allows us to talk about a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 20%, compared with the fact that the TPP operated on traditional fuels.
The reasons for this success were commented by the co-chairman of the Green Shield environmental society, editor-in-chief of the Ural Meridian news agency Alexander Anikin.
The main distinguishing feature of Finnish reform is the correct emphasis.
Garbage was immediately considered as a source of energy.
Therefore, energy companies have joined the recycling process, which are used to being responsible for both the quality of services and environmental friendliness.
The tasks were immediately global - to sort and return to circulation secondary resources, as well as to prevent the simple storage of waste at landfills.
It is this approach that radically changed the industry, making it strategic from purely communal.
Innovation and technology can and should be adopted, as our northern neighbor does.
It ’ s also a lesson we need to learn.
Sign up now

The country recycles 95% of its plastic waste into energy at a plant in Riihimäki.

Title:

Content: Ukraine will deepen cooperation with Finland in the direction of household waste management.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Regional Development, this was announced by the Minister of Communities and Territories Alexey Chernyshov during a meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to Ukraine Päivi Laine.
It is noted that in Finland, only 1% of waste ends up in landfills, the vast majority is recycled.
This is the result of the interaction of the central and local authorities, as well as the awareness of citizens
Ukraine is also planning to adopt this experience.
“Finland is a country that demonstrates high standards of environmental waste management.
Almost all the citizens of this country sort the garbage.
As a result, 99% of household waste is recycled.
This experience will be useful for Ukraine.
So, a similar process is already underway in hromadas - in 1725 settlements of our state, a separate collection of household waste has been introduced.
But it is necessary to scale this direction and introduce useful practices of international partners in the country, "Chernyshov said.
Read alsoIn the Odessa region on the Danube, the dam is destroyed - under it meter voids In the press service reminded that thanks to the implementation of separate collection of garbage in 2020, about 6.3% of household waste was recycled and disposed of in Ukraine.
In turn, Laine noted that Finland is ready to share experience and help Ukrainian communities to implement waste processing projects.
“We also have companies that recycle waste into energy.
In such a comprehensive way, we improve the ecology of our country, ” she added.
Waste recycling in Ukraine
As UNIAN reported, in July 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the draft law No. 2207-1-d “On waste management ”.
The document establishes the procedure for the collection, removal and treatment of waste, ensures the introduction of their separate collection and recycling, provides for the requirements for the quality of the provision of waste management services and the charging of fees for such a service.

Finland aims to recycle 80% of plastic waste, aided by its automated waste sorting systems like MetroTaifun.

The Netherlands has effective waste sorting and recycling systems, burning non-recyclable waste to generate energy.

Title:

Content: • Text size
News feed
Today, 08: 26
236
Today, 08: 26
236
Photo: photo by Alexander Shahbazov
New approaches to waste management developed in Almaty
New approaches to waste management have been developed in Almaty.
In the metropolis already conduct a separate collection of solid household waste.
BaigeNews.kz learned about the prospects of separate garbage collection and the goals of the Almaty authorities for waste management.
In Almaty, there are more and more people who consciously approach the emission of household waste, sort waste for further processing and even carry waste from cardboard, paper and plastic to special reception points.
Conscious citizens admit that when properly sorted, a bag of recyclable waste is most often larger than a bag of other waste that cannot yet be recycled in the country.
For example, today in Kazakhstan do not recycle tetrapacks, and they still go to the basket with non-recyclable garbage.
The Akimat of Almaty supports such initiatives in every possible way and has already put more than a thousand special containers on the sites in the yards next to ordinary tanks.
In appearance, they look like an iron mesh box, and here residents can put such waste that is already processed in the city - plastic, paper (waste paper), glass, metal, cellophane and rags.
In the near future, there will be another 454 such containers in the city.
In addition, Almaty residents have access to 37 waste collection points that can be recycled.
In particular, one of the plants in Almaty produces polyethylene granules and stretch film from secondary raw materials.
At the waste sorting complex in Almaty, everything that can be recycled is taken away and sent to production.
Now 13 organizations are cooperating with this complex to process the selected recyclables.
The remaining waste is removed for burial, taking into account the norms of environmental legislation, to the landfill located in the village of Aytey, Karaysai district, Almaty region.
According to the statistics of the akimat of Almaty, more than 1200 tons of solid household waste are processed in the metropolis per day, of which 17% are processed.
Ecologist Mels Eleusizov believes that landfills in the Almaty region and the whole country should be closed and reclaimed so as not to be a “time bomb ” for the ecology and health of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan.
And sorting household waste of the population, he proposes to carry out in the yards manually.
"Today Almaty" produces "waste containing about 40 types of materials that can be recycled.
I have long proposed to organize sorting points on garbage sites so that employees manually sort waste and then in this form would be sent for processing.
This would provide not only smart waste management, but also new jobs, ” says Mels Eleusizov.
In developed European countries, landfills have been forgotten for a long time.
Here, at the state level, a hierarchy of values in relation to waste is built.
The main principle is to reduce the volume of "production" of garbage.
Those waste that still remain, sort and only what is already impossible to recycle, safely burned, getting energy used in the city.
At a special waste sorting plant in the capital of the Netherlands - Amsterdam bring all the waste of citizens and enterprises.
Here, with the help of a new technology - infrared scanning, waste is automatically taken from a huge pile that can be recycled.
Suitable as a secondary raw material waste is sent with a pressed form for processing to other enterprises.
The rest of the waste will have to be burned here to get steam and send it to heat houses and heat hot water, as well as generate electricity.
Burning garbage occurs in compliance with all environmental standards, measurements are 24 / 7, and if the excess of safe concentrations of harmful substances is recorded, the entire complex is immediately stopped.
What comes out of the pipe, according to experts, you can breathe, in the Netherlands and the EU very strict requirements for emissions.
The remaining ash is not buried, but is completely used for asphalt production, another sludge is sent for burial in special underground mines in neighboring Germany.
Speaking about sorting garbage, employees of the waste sorting plant in Amsterdam (AEB) say that residents of apartment buildings in megacities, even in Europe, can not sort all the garbage, so in Amsterdam, residents throw away only plastic, paper (waste paper) separately.
All the rest of the garbage will be sorted out by the automatic garbage sorting system at the garbage sorting plant.
“There is an opinion that if people at home sort the garbage, then you can get more recyclables for recycling.
But we have seen in practice that new technologies make it possible to sort garbage collected in a heap at a factory even better than if people in apartment buildings sorted 100 percent of their waste.
But in private houses in Amsterdam, the tenants themselves completely sort the waste, and he does not even go to our garbage sorting complex, but goes straight to processing.
In principle, there are very few landfills for waste disposal in the country, and none of them are currently used for disposal of waste from households.
There are several mines for the disposal of waste such as ash, but their negligible amount, ” said the manager of the waste sorting plant Amsterdam (AEB) Cohen Bytink.
Almaty and Almaty region jointly plan to adopt best practices.
Similar to the Amsterdam garbage sorting complex is promised to be built on the existing garbage sorting complex in the Ili district.
In the next few years, they will not only select waste for usable and not recyclable, but also get biogas from them.
The expected capacity of the plant is 120 thousand tons per year, and the construction will be carried out by a Kazakh-Spanish company.
In addition, the city is beginning to collect food waste, and they are also promised to use it for the production of biogas, and this is in line with the plans of Amsterdam, where they do not yet do anything with food waste, and also, as in Almaty, they plan to produce biogas from them.
photos by Alexander Shahbazov
Subscribe to our Telegram channel and get the news first!
Share:
Partners news:
Back to top

Germany has a 98% recycling rate and implements Extended Producer Responsibility laws to promote recycling.

Title:

Content: Part of the recovery rate rose to more than 80% The refund system in about 50 regions around the world has achieved remarkable results.
Subscriber
Font Size:
Around 50 regions around the world have achieved remarkable results after implementing the beverage bottle and can refund system, and the recycling rate of containers in many places has risen to 80%, and the recycling rate in Germany is as high as 98%.
Norway, Germany, Australia, New South Wales and other places have begun to collect deposits for beverage bottles and cans.
Among them, Lithuania implemented the plan in 2016, and after just over a year, the recovery rate reached 92% at the end of 2017.
Before the deposit was collected, the recovery rate of beverage containers in Lithuania was only about 30%.
Sign up to continue reading the full article!
LIKE Our official website for more information

Austria has effective waste sorting and recycling systems and offers a 50% subsidy for electronic product repairs to reduce e-waste.

Title:

Content: Point of wisdom: waste disposal
Font Size:
“Regenerating the available resources is a virtue … ”
Japan is one of the best countries in the world in terms of garbage sorting since 1980. Since April 1, 2017, it has taken two years to extract from 78,985 metric tons of white household appliances (mainly washing machines, refrigerators, etc.) and 6.21 million mobile phones. Out of 32 kg of pure gold, 3500 kg of pure silver and 2200 kg of pure copper, to create the 5000 Olympic medals to be awarded.
Through this plan, the Japanese government let the global public understand the importance of e-waste reuse, and improve the recycling rate of e-waste, of which 32 kilograms of gold is recycled and refined, the market price is more than S $2.19 million, making many people exclaim that the humble e-waste in life has huge value.
In order to reduce electronic waste, Austria launched electronic product repair vouchers, and the Dutch design team turned it into office furniture.
Austrian citizens can download maintenance vouchers to subsidize the repair cost of electronic products such as smart phones, laptops or dishwashers, and the subsidy amount is 50% of the repair cost, capped at about S $290, hoping to change the consumption habits of people.
The design team in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, promotes the “Ore Stream ” project, which uses electronic waste to make avant-garde office furniture.
For example, the computer casing forms a storage cabinet, and the aluminum plate is made into a chair, and is decorated by some mobile phone parts.
Implementation
In addition to resource recycling, we can do some small things in life to help implement the concept of environmental protection, such as: eat, use moderately, buy more do not become garbage; use more porcelain cups, environmental bowls, less paper cups and no washing tableware; bathe without bath, take a shower; do not throw things casually, reduce the production of garbage; home lighting equipment to save electric light bulbs, and develop the habit; Automatically turn on the temperature; recycle newspapers and oil you have seen; bring your own back bag or shopping bag when buying vegetables or groceries, and choose less packaged items.
Maintain the car well, not to let it smoke; often check the tires, because the lack of inflation tire is easy to break and consume oil; walk more, ride more bicycles; drive less, try to use public transport; promote subway, bus and cycling sports, and buy equipment and stationery made of recyclable materials.
QUALITY
According to statistics, it takes ten years to plant a tree, but only a few minutes to cut a tree; babies from birth to two years old must use 20 trees for diapers; for every ton of waste paper recovered, 20 logs can be cut eight meters high and 14 centimeters in diameter; and recycled paper can be used to cut about 400,000 logs a month.
Therefore, recycled paper made of recycled paper can be recycled, in addition to reducing the amount of trees cut down, but also indirectly save water.
Some people have said such things: "The average life expectancy of human beings is getting longer and shorter, and the life expectancy of nature is getting shorter and shorter." Because of human health care and endless desire, nature's resources are limited and limited, it is really unbearable for human beings to continue to destroy such things.
If everyone is environmentally conscious and implements it in life, the earth will gradually recuperate and we can have a good and healthy quality of life.
LIKE Our official Facebook page for more information

Japan has a highly effective waste sorting and recycling system, with local governments largely responsible for waste management.

Title:

Content: Waste Levy ｜ Japan has been a model for decades, Okinawa Hong Kong families share the key to success
Author: Law Baoxi
Published: Updated:
“I remember the first time we dropped garbage out of the streets in Japan, our family watched the whole process to see if our garbage was successfully handled, and finally the garbage truck was recycled. We clapped our hands, ” Oki-Family, a Hong Kong resident in Okinawa, told reporters.
Japan's waste levy and recycling has been implemented for many years, and the local domestic waste treatment, recycling and classification are very perfect, and recycling accounts for 20%.
It can be said that the relevant policies have long been integrated into the ordinary life of the Japanese people and become the local way of life.
If Hong Kong is about to introduce a waste levy, what can we learn from Japan?
This is part of the "Garbage Levy, How to Do It in a Foreign Country?" series.
Oki-Family, a family of three who have lived in Japan for eight years, now lives in Toyomi City, Okinawa Prefecture. The couple, Leung Sheng and Leung, recently shared with Hong Kong 01 the situation of local waste levies and recycling.
“There are many cities in Okinawa, and each city has its own system, so every time you move, you have to adapt and get used to it. ”
At present, our family mainly uses the largest garbage bag, which costs about 20 yen (more than HK $1.03) a.
The average monthly amount spent on waste collection and recycling is about 300 yen (over HK $16), "he said.
There are different waste management and recycling regulations in Japan. Levy standards vary from prefecture to city. According to Leung, Japan ’ s waste classification is much more complex than Hong Kong ’ s. It is divided into general waste, large waste and kitchen waste. newspaper and cardboard separately), etc.
For large garbage, such as mattresses and other items that cannot be placed in garbage bags, you need to purchase a sticker of about 300 yen (about HK $15.5) at a convenience store and paste it on the garbage that needs to be disposed of.
Other cities have the same treatment, but the amount may vary.
Oki-Family, a Hong Kong resident family in Okinawa, shared with reporters the complicated garbage sorting situation in Japan. (Provided by respondents)
Since most places implement self-paid waste levies, sorting and recycling has long been a “compulsory lesson ” for Japanese residents.
Every night, after dinner, their family will take the garbage outside the back door of the home, where a can be put on the garbage can; they also placed a large plastic box there to store the recycling garbage, such as fork batteries, glass bottles, soda cans, plastic bottles, etc., stored enough will be taken out.
On Tuesdays and Fridays, combustible waste is collected, soda cans are collected on Wednesdays, glass bottles and newspapers are collected on Saturdays.
Although the combustible waste contained in kitchen waste is collected only twice a week, there are few cases in the area where it stinks and affects environmental hygiene. “There are scents on the garbage cans in Japan that can suppress the smell, and I did try to have a slight effect, ” Leung explained.
And my own method is to put it outside the back door, because the position has been blowing for a long time, and it is almost impossible to smell without opening the lid. "
Over 70 years of off-the-shelf garbage sorting
In the 1950s, Japan entered a period of rapid economic growth, people's living standards have been significantly improved, and the amount of garbage has also increased sharply, and the phenomenon of littering can be seen everywhere, and environmental problems have become severe.
Later, the Japanese government took advantage of the opportunity of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games to launch a "capital beautification campaign" to awaken the people's awareness of environmental protection.
However, in the 1970s, local citizens protested the landfill site selection, and began to take actions to stop garbage trucks, and the protest lasted for eight years.
Until the 1980s, Japan began to carry out simple garbage sorting, and after decades of development, garbage sorting has become a standardized, systematic way of life.
As for the garbage levy scheme, Japan was introduced in the 1970s. In 2019, a total of 1,094 garbage charges were implemented in 1,741 cities, towns and villages across the country, with an implementation rate of 62.8%; among them, the urban rate was lower, only 56.2%.
However, Japan's domestic waste recycling is basically the responsibility of local governments, so different cities in the waste separation and treatment charges are not the same.
For example, in order to reduce and recycle the amount of garbage increasing year by year, local garbage is divided into five categories: "combustible garbage", "non-combustible garbage", "hazardous garbage", "resource garbage" and "large garbage". The first four categories have designated garbage bags, and large garbage has related "treatment coupons", which can be purchased at general convenience stores.
All kinds of paper (newspapers, magazines, cardboard, milk cartons) need to be tied into a cross shape with a paper rope.
All refuse should be disposed of by members of the public before 8.30 am on a specified date.
If the Government wants the public to follow suit, the most important thing is to make things convenient for them, and everything should be convenient.
Oki-Family
Japan ’ s waste classification was first seen in the 1980s, and has developed over the decades to form a standardized and systematic way of life.
(Getty)
Fear of animals, care for neighbors, and...?
When she first arrived in Guijing, Liang Sheng said that she had long known that Japan had a policy of collecting and sorting garbage, so she was prepared psychologically.
When they first moved to Hong Kong to report to the local government department, they had received a relevant garbage instruction notice, "The average family will stick it in a prominent place, such as a refrigerator door or next to it, which is convenient to check when handling garbage daily."
After doing more, you will remember that you don ’ t have to look at it every time.
They added that the circular will also clearly state the arrangements for zoning, public holidays, special weather, special items, etc., which are basically very clear, and you can consult friends and neighbors if you do not understand.
They said that the charts provided by the authorities are detailed and clear, and it is not really difficult to follow them. "But the pictures may indicate that it is a certain type of garbage, but the details may indicate that some special circumstances will not be recycled."
The careful classification of this aspect, we still feel very troublesome at first. "
On the other hand, due to the different living environment and culture in Japan, there are other additional concerns about daily garbage disposal.
They remember the first time they dropped garbage out of the street, they heard friends say not to fall out of the street the night before, because there may be stray cats, crows and other garbage, there may be a chance to dirty the environment.
There is also garbage can not be taken out too early to remove, otherwise it may be scolded by neighbors. Liang Sheng Liang Tai admitted: "So in Japan, we have to be afraid of animals, we have to take care of our neighbors, and whether the garbage truck can finally be recycled after the garbage is sorted."
Japan is regarded as one of the most successful countries in the world in waste levying and recycling, winning in a zero-waste town. (Getty)
The best way to deal with batteries, soda cans and paper skins?
In addition, they also have to face the problem of garbage that can not be dropped.
They said: "The most troublesome is the battery, although some local appliance stores can recycle, but not all types, mainly the recycling of disposable batteries, but not the charging type.
In the end, they found information online, and learned that only a few electrical appliances stores in Naha can be recycled, but it is very inconvenient to drive to them, so they have been unable to abandon them for years, so they have to slowly store them at home and drive to a certain number of cars to deal with them.
What also makes them feel very annoying and very disturbing is the soda can and the paper skin. "In Hong Kong, these two kinds of waste are considered more valuable, and can be sold for a few pennies."
But in Japan, if you put a soda can in a plastic bag, they will not accept it, you have to buy a government-designated plastic bag.
They said: “The irony is that if you put it in a transparent plastic bag, there will be scavengers who will take it and sell it. ”
The Government will also appeal to households not to let waste pickers take them, as this is part of the income of waste collectors. "
Japanese newspapers and paper should be tied, even if only one piece, and tied with a paper rope, otherwise the workers will not recycle.
(Getty)
They continued: "From our point of view, why buy a plastic bag for garbage collectors, instead of having a plastic bag left in the home before, no more money to waste, and it is not better to help the environment and someone to recycle?"
"If the paper is put out, it will not be collected if it is not tied up, and if it is scattered, it will not be collected, but even if it is placed in a paper bag, they will say that it is not tied up."
Even if it is not a piece of paper, it will not be taken, and every time I hear it, it is very important. "
Keyword Success: Convenient
Although there are no penalties for garbage disposal in Japan, if garbage is not handled in accordance with the relevant guidelines, the relevant departments will not recycle the household's garbage and will indicate what is wrong on the household's garbage.
They said, "Not recycling is already a punishment, because you have to find a place to put this waste for another week."
However, they stressed, "Although the levies and recycling of local refuse may cause some inconvenience and trouble in daily life, environmental protection will be a blessing to the public if the Government is really able to do enough in handling waste from the environmental point of view."
After years of living in Japan, Oki-Family believes that the work of collecting and recycling waste is successful: “The most important thing is the education of the whole nation. They are supported by the government, businesses, and many large circles. ” Convenient."
Education is equally important, Mrs Leung added: “To make people feel that recycling from their urine is something they need to do and is part of their lives.
Naturally, more and more people will accept this. ” For example, their daughters will be taught classification from kindergarten, and simulation learning, teaching how to classify things, slowly making sorting garbage their instinct.
Liang Sheng-Liang of Oki-Family, a Japanese Hong Kong family, stressed that the policy focus is to enable every household to be hygienic when handling garbage, because the relevant garbage levy and recycling involve more than the purchase of plastic bags.
(courtesy of interviewees)
It's not about plastic bags. It's about hygiene.
On Hong Kong ’ s imminent introduction of a waste levy, Mrs Leung said: “The biggest resistance is that the Hong Kong government is too weak at present, and even if they do well or not, the public may not like it. ”
The second is the habit of the public, who stressed the need for the government to give the public a sufficient period of adaptation.
They cited Japan ’ s policy as an example. “The Japanese authorities generally give a relatively long period of adaptation, for example, we will later change to electronic signatures, and the government will give the public two years to get used to it. The transition period in Hong Kong may be relatively short in years. ”
Garbage levy is actually a big thing, including the promotion of education, the awareness of the public is very important, if they lack awareness, they will not follow suit.
But this is a work that takes a long time to do, and it is not possible to do it in a moment or three.
They believe that the Hong Kong government should provide some further information, such as tips, such as how to dispose of garbage at home will be more hygienic and save space, so that the public can understand the specific situation facing the actual operation.
In addition, it can also provide various types of garbage disposal equipment on the market, such as deodorants and scents that can be attached to garbage cans of various sizes.
Finally, they reiterate, “It ’ s important for every household to be hygienic when it comes to waste levies and recycling, which involves more than just buying plastic bags. ”
This may also be one of the reasons why many people are dissatisfied or worried about the proposed waste levy. "

The Japanese government has promoted waste sorting and recycling through education.

South Korea has a mature waste recycling system with over 50% recycling rate, using priced garbage bags for different materials.

Title:

Content: Bauhinia Party ｜ The Dilemma and Countermeasures of Hong Kong ’ s Waste Management System
Author: 01 Forum
Published: Updated:
Author ： Shi Lei
The author believes that many of the current garbage collection disputes have been implemented to the feasibility level, in fact, are related to the inadequacy of the behavior system of residential areas to place garbage, and some of the shortcomings have not been collected garbage bags to make up for.
Its shortcomings mainly include: almost all residents of the garbage can be carried out 24 hours (such as a fixed garbage room and a long "business hours"), each residents of the garbage room often let the residents put garbage into (super) large garbage bins, and each garbage room corresponding to the number of residents, resulting in if there is a "black sheep" do not buy a levy garbage bag to throw garbage, they can walk without obstruction.
Property companies or FEHD contractors may have to wait for a long time before they find a "bad horse" in the process of comprehensive garbage disposal, but at this time it is difficult to claim responsibility, which leads to the "polluter pays" principle in fact is empty words.
The recent Jordan fire has also reminded all walks of life in Hong Kong that there are a large number of "trivial" old tenements in the most prosperous city center in Hong Kong, with chaotic personnel, lack of property services, and unethical behavior, resulting in a large number of public safety risks.
In these places, even property fees are difficult to ensure that the tenants pay in full, and how can the executive power to ensure the implementation of the levy garbage bag system? If the measures to effectively and timely remove the "black sheep" from the institutional level can not be designed, and the implementation level will be discounted for various "objective reasons", then it will form the behavior of "bad money driven away from good money".
Soon, no one will follow the requirements of the levy garbage bag system to do, and the criticism is rife, may the next government will abolish the annoying garbage collection system as a "moral government".
Refer to the garbage disposal policies of representative regions of the world, you can see that their garbage classification, collection of garbage bags and other systems are "devil in the details", often in the geographical environment, the unwritten rules of behavior in the residential community, and institutional protection, etc., to ensure that timely detection, isolation and failure to classify, pack and dispose of garbage according to the system requirements, and minimize the possibility of "black sheep".
For example, in the European Union, Belgium, where I lived, they have long promoted charging garbage bags.
Similar to Japan, Korea and Taiwan, residents have a fixed time to throw garbage (usually early in the morning on certain days), and garbage bags containing garbage should be placed in designated places.
It can be imagined that there is no requirement for garbage bags to be filled with garbage, but the specified bags are filled with garbage that should not be loaded or excessive garbage will be rejected.
The main way of living in the city of Leuven, where the author was at the time, was a single building or an apartment building (but the floor is usually no more than 10 floors, and the residents do not exceed 50 households). Once the garbage bags are found to be not in compliance with the regulations, whether it is the city government or the apartment manager, the difficulty of tracing is not great, and the surrounding residents will actively cooperate.
For example, Japan, Korea and Taiwan are using garbage levies to regulate the classification of citizens and reduce waste. The above areas must use the volume charge, through the use of garbage charging plastic bags to implement polluter pays.
In addition to requiring residents to place garbage (in the correct bag) in the designated location at the specified time, Japanese and Korean garbage bags are more meticulous in sorting.
For example, Japan, which is more familiar to Hong Kong people, requires transparent bags (not limited to specific models but must be transparent, can be tied) to quickly confirm that the garbage classification is correct, and the bag is combustible garbage, plastic, metal cans, etc., or non-recyclable and non-combustible waste.
Recyclable waste paper, etc., does not need to buy a separate garbage bag, but needs to be properly wrapped. Although Japan has a much higher density of living than EU countries, neighbors will pay more attention to not sorting garbage and will not delay the action.
South Korea's recycling rate is also more than 50%, the main reason is the strict classification of garbage bags, different from a kind of paid garbage bags in Hong Kong, South Korea is a variety of paid garbage bags, and each garbage bag can only contain one kind of material, and according to the difficulty of recycling to determine the price of garbage bags, the more difficult the recovery, the higher the price of garbage bags.
As a result, South Korea ’ s recovery rate is higher.
As for the Taiwan region, in addition to adopting a regular garbage collection mode similar to Japan, in the area where there are no conditions to set up a garbage room, there is a garbage truck and recycling truck every night, and the song of the snow truck comes to the small area.
This requirement is even higher, and residents need to actively show up at a specific time, so recycling workers can more accurately and timely eliminate the "black sheep" that do not pack garbage according to regulations, and therefore refuse to accept or take other measures.
It is worth pointing out that I have only visited Japan, Korea and Taiwan on short trips, and only stayed in commercial hotels.
Therefore, details such as the garbage system in residential areas are indirectly obtained through online KOL sharing, live scene dramas and other channels.
Please note that there are errors.
From this, it can be seen that the problems existing in Hong Kong's current waste management system and the waste management experience of advanced regions abroad have produced the following suggestions that deserve serious consideration and reference by the Hong Kong Government and relevant departments:
1. Improve the behavior system of residents throwing garbage.
First of all, the public garbage room and the garbage disposal place in the residential area should no longer be allowed to throw garbage 7x24 hours.
To consider formulating standards, such as limited delivery time and designated delivery points, for the reference of the entire Hong Kong property management industry, the FEHD will implement them to prevent the "black sheep" from evading garbage bag charges.
2. Strengthen the management of "no matter" areas, standardize the premises and methods of refuse collection in areas where property services are lacking, and ensure that the refuse charging system can be effectively implemented even in these problem areas.
3, with reference to the practices of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other places, after the successful implementation of the garbage collection system, it continues to optimize, the implementation of more detailed garbage classification management, according to different materials and recycling difficulties to carry out differentiated charges.
This will increase the willingness of the environmental protection industry to handle high-difficulty waste, while increasing the residents ’ enthusiasm for sorting and waste reduction.
Critics may think that the institutional construction of these areas requires a long period of time and a large amount of resources to invest, and may not be able to be directly replicated in the real environment of Hong Kong.
Moreover, the improvement of the relevant system requires no small investment of resources.
Perhaps this is precisely the original intention of the SAR Government to levy a "short and fast" garbage levy.
However, it is already clear that the "short and fast" has only attracted doubts, and even if it is forced to push forward, it will also be at the expense of the government's recognition.
Moreover, the "black sheep" can not be effectively eradicated in a timely manner, which will inevitably make the garbage collection system become "half suspended". Only a few able and willing citizens are willing to do so (such as cooperating with "green in the area", and working hard even in the hot sun at the recycling point to deliver their own recyclable plastic waste to the recycling point of respectable citizens). Go your own way, the system cost has been paid a lot, and the problem to be solved by the garbage levy is still the same.
No matter what kind of solution is adopted, the government will need some time to refine the design of the refuse collection system and promote it more vigorously.
The implementation of the principle of garbage collection in the European Union, Japan and Korea, and Taiwan is not completed in three or two months.
Garbage collection needs the long-term cooperation of residents, change the long-term behavior habits can be completed in a few months?
How can this be called good governance and good governance? If you cook for the government, you can't be anxious and work hard for the government for a long time, you can only make a well-intentioned system truly have the positive meaning it should have.
The author is a researcher at the Bauhinia Institute for Policy Studies.
The article is only the opinion of the author and does not represent the position of Hong Kong 01.
Please email us at 01view @ hk01.com.
Please attach the author ’ s real name and contact details.
If not applicable, no notice will be given.

Taiwan has a well-established waste reduction framework, achieving a 58.03% recycling rate in Hsinchu County.

Singapore aims to reduce waste disposal by 30% by 2030 through its integrated waste management system.

Title:

Content: Society10 September 2021 15: 15
Film-research "Rubbish" will be shown on September 12 on the TV channel Russia 24
The joint project of RT-Invest and the film company Masterskaya calls to think about the problem of waste processing
Ksenia BOGDANOVA
Today, Russia generates more than 60 million tons of municipal solid waste, 93% of which is sent to landfills or illegal landfills.
Photo: frame video.
On the TV channel Russia 24 on Sunday, September 12, a loud premiere is expected: a new film-study “Trash ” offers viewers to think about the scale of the global problem of waste recycling.
The authors of the documentary traveled to ten countries and regions, studying and comparing advanced technologies for garbage disposal.
The lenses of their cameras included both overcrowded landfills and landfills, as well as the most modern enterprises that made the disposal of garbage environmentally friendly and safe.
Humanity consumes more and more goods every day - which means that more and more garbage is sent to the garbage every day.
This is a global challenge that all countries face today.
Together with leading domestic and world experts, the authors of the film “Trash ” investigated the path of waste in Russia, Europe and Asia.
The film was made by the film crew of the film company Masterskaya, a recognized Russian leader in the field of documentary films and popular science films.
The audience is already familiar with their works “President ”,“ The Great Game ”, “Secrets of Death ”,“ Mold ”, “The Death of the Empire ” and many others.
The films of the film company “Masterskaya ” have repeatedly won awards at Russian and foreign festivals.
Assistance in the filming was provided by the company "RT-Invest", founded by the State Corporation Rostec to create in Russia a comprehensive system of solid municipal waste management.
The work of the film crew lasted more than a year.
The authors of the film studied new technologies for recycling garbage in Sweden, France, the UK, China and, of course, in Russia.
- Today, more than 60 million tons of solid municipal waste are generated in Russia, 93% of them are sent to landfills or illegal landfills, - said RT-Invest CEO Andrey Shipelov. - We have a national goal - to reduce the volume of burial by half by 2030.
For the development of the industry, this can be an intermediate goal.
We must strive to build a sustainable MSW management system that will enable us to achieve zero disposal in major cities.
There are already examples in the world.
Eleven of the world ’ s megacities – Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, Brussels, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Zurich and Oslo – have completely abandoned waste disposal through the introduction of an integrated approach and the use of two types of recycling: material and energy.
More than thirty experts took part in the filming of the picture - scientists, environmentalists, activists, representatives of processing companies.
One of the experts, a leading researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anatoly Yamskov suggests that the future generation will judge us by monstrous deposits of garbage.
Rubbish is the key to knowing the past.
It reconstructs the entire material component of life.
If in 100-150 years people unearth any of the modern landfills, they will understand that we, their ancestors, were monstrously wasteful, - says Yamskov.
The authors of the film remind: every minute people around the world buy about two tons of new clothes.
At the same time, 60 trucks with the old one are sent to the dump every minute.
Every second, consumers open 4,000 cans, and at the same time throw away 12,000 empty bottles.
The movie “Trash ” makes you wonder: where will all this waste go?
Which of these can be recycled and used again?
Recall that the company "RT-Invest" was established in 2012 with the participation of the state corporation Rostec.
The company invests in the sectors of advanced industrial technologies in Russia and abroad.
The main task of RT-Invest is to create a comprehensive waste management system in our country based on leading Russian and foreign practices.
Within the framework of the project "Energy from Waste", RT-Invest is building four modern enterprises for thermal processing of waste into energy in the Moscow region and one plant in Tatarstan.
Trailer of the documentary film “Rubbish ”
Russia 24.
Journalistic investigation of waste processing problems
Watch the film "Rubbish" on the TV channel Russia 24 on Sunday, September 12.

The European Union aims for 55% municipal waste and 65% packaging waste recycling by 2025, targets already met by countries like Finland.

Title:

Content: Circular Economy : 18 EU Member States at risk of missing waste targets

Which countries are at risk of missing the 2025 targets for preparing for re-use and recycling of municipal and all packaging waste and the 2035 landfill target? The European Commission answered this question in a recently published early warning report. But first the good news. Nine Member States are on track to meet the 2025 targets: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

And just as a reminder, these are the targets set out in the Waste Framework Directive and the Directive on packaging and packaging waste we are talking about:

  • 55% recycling and preparing for reuse of municipal waste;
  • 65% recycling for total packaging waste;
  • and material-specific packaging waste recycling targets (75% for paper and cardboard, 70% for glass, 70% for ferrous metals packaging, 50% for aluminium, 50% for plastic and 25% for wood).

Like our content? Subscribe to our newsletters!

Bad news for some countries

And now the bad news: 18 Member States are at serious risk of missing one or both of the 2025 targets.

Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are at risk of missing the municipal waste target.

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia are at risk of missing both the municipal waste and the total packaging waste targets for 2025.

In addition, some countries continue to landfill most of their municipal waste and are likely to miss the 2035 landfill target. The Commission is making recommendations to these Member States, building on the ongoing financial and technical support provided to improve waste management performance. These recommendations cover a wide range of actions: reducing non-recyclable waste, increasing re-use, promoting separate collection, developing treatment capacity for sorting and recycling, improving governance, using economic instruments and raising awareness.

"Implementing waste reduction and recycling measures on the ground is key for our circular economy transition. Turning waste into resources helps us on the way to climate neutrality, increases the security of supply of energy and raw materials, and creates local jobs and innovation opportunities. The early warning report allows us, in close cooperation with the Member States, to detect shortcomings, take action ahead of the deadlines for meeting the targets, and share best practices in sound waste management," said Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

Waste generation on the rise

On average, Europeans generate 530 kg of municipal waste per person per year (waste from households and similar waste from businesses). Although it is increasingly recycled and less landfilled, municipal waste (MSW) is still one of the most complex waste streams to manage. In the EU, about 50% of MSW is recycled or composted and 23% is landfilled. The amount of packaging waste generated is constantly increasing. Between 2013 and 2020, the amount of packaging waste generated in the EU will increase by 15% to almost 80 million tonnes. Around 64% of packaging waste is now recycled, although this varies by material. More than 75% of paper, cardboard and metal packaging is recycled, but less than 40% of plastic packaging - a problem in most EU countries, many of which are at risk of missing the material-specific target for plastic packaging waste recycling.

The early warning report allows us, in close cooperation with the Member States, to detect shortcomings, take action ahead of the deadlines for meeting the targets, and share best practices in sound waste management.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

Significant differences between Member States

Looking at the report, one thing is clear: There are considerable differences in waste management performance across the EU. Some countries still have a long way to go to meet the targets agreed in EU legislation and further reforms are needed, in particular to ensure the treatment of biowaste, which accounts for a third of municipal waste, to ensure separate collection of waste - a prerequisite for recycling - and to improve data quality. However, most EU countries have introduced or are in the process of introducing waste reforms to improve recycling rates, some of which are expected to bear fruit in the coming years.

The results were also influenced by external factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced or stopped separate collection in some countries. The recent rise in energy prices is also having a negative impact on recycling activities.

The early warning report builds on the Environmental Implementation Review, which had already identified problems with the implementation of EU waste legislation. In particular, almost 2000 illegal or substandard landfills are still operating in the EU, representing a significant source of pollution and greenhouse gases and a missed opportunity for the recovery of secondary raw materials.

Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, and Slovenia have effective waste sorting and recycling systems, with Belgium charging for garbage bags.

Government plays a crucial role in promoting waste sorting and recycling, as seen in countries like Finland, Japan, and South Korea.

Implementing automated waste sorting and recycling systems, like those in Finland and Japan, requires significant investment and adaptation to regional economic conditions, funding, public awareness, and government support.