.png)
We know that getting the sorting right isn't a jog in the park. It's not even a stroll with a sandwich. When we started pondering which trash sparks heated debates in our homes, it turned out to be a real "I know that I know nothing" moment, as Sokrates famously said. Unfortunately, ignorance doesn't shield us from responsibility, especially towards the environment.
Definitely yes! Although segregation and recycling are actually the last resort for unnecessary items before they end up in an incinerator or a landfill.
Why? There's something called a circular economy (also known as a closed-loop economy), which helps conserve natural resources and reduces the amount of waste going to landfills. We should strive for this model, and according to its principles, before we toss an unnecessary item into the appropriate container, we can explore a few options to ensure it can fulfill someone else's needs.
In other words: before you transfer an unwanted item to the trash, check first if there are takers for even its parts, for example, on groups and platforms like "Giving away for free." Or perhaps it can be repaired or repurposed into something new? This way, our "waste" goes back into circulation, not adding to the waste stream. Therefore, segregation and recycling should be treated as a last resort.
In our opinion, about as intuitive as a statistical analysis using the chi-square test. In plain language: not really. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth the effort. To spare you from drowning in a sea of ambiguous information, we've taken a deep dive and fished out some specifics.
The biggest revelation? Although Poland has a Unified Waste Segregation System (JSSO) divided into 5 well-known categories, in reality, the rules of segregation are determined by the municipality. Why? It mainly depends on the processing capabilities of the facility that collects waste from your area. It may turn out that in your municipality, aerosol containers need to be taken to a PSZOK (Selective Municipal Waste Collection Point) instead of being thrown into the yellow container, or meat can be disposed of as bio waste because the facility is technologically advanced enough to neutralize it in the bio fraction.
If you often find yourself frozen in front of the sorting bins with a dramatic sigh worthy of a Shakespearean soliloquy, use this general, four-step guide:
1. Pass it on
Before you slip into your Sunday tracksuit on the way to the garbage shed, reconsider whether you really don't have any items among the waste that someone else could still make use of. Tea mugs with the faces of forgotten idols, which you're too embarrassed to bring out even at a 6-year-old's party? Or maybe that rarely used and still unexpired eyeshadow shade that just happens to give you the look of someone recovering from seasickness? Instead of tossing them, try giving them away on a platform like "Trash Exchange" in your city/area. Perhaps someone will gratefully adopt them.
2. Check the segregation rules in your municipality
How? Type "waste segregation + name of your municipality" into a search engine, or use this search engine (works for Poland).
Some waste collection entities offer search engines on their websites that clearly indicate where specific types of waste should go (for example, residents of Wrocław can use this website).
Eco-tip: check if your municipality or waste processing facility has materials on their website that will help you manage waste at home. A visually accessible poster (like this one from Wrocław or Warsaw) is worth hanging on the wall above the bins or on the door of the cabinet where you keep the bins. This way, you have a segregation cheat sheet within sight, save time on deliberations, and the likelihood of correct sorting can significantly increase.
3. Empty and crush the packaging
Make sure the discarded packaging is empty and you've separated its individual elements (e.g., the metal cap from a glass jar). You don't have to wash the packaging, but if possible, try to crush it to take up less space (e.g., plastic bottles, Tetra Paks, cardboard). This way, the container will hold more waste, and the garbage trucks won't be carrying "air."
4. Check the labels on the products
More and more manufacturers are opting to facilitate the segregation of their products. So look for specific instructions on the packaging (like the one in the image below).
.png)
Have you ever wondered why so many types of glass, such as tableware, crystal, heat-resistant glass, mirrors, candle containers, or windowpanes, cannot be thrown into the glass fraction container? Well, it all comes down to the chemical composition and melting temperature, which is similar for so-called packaging glass. If we throw other glass waste into the glass container, we contaminate the selected material and disrupt or even prevent its recovery and reuse.
The same goes for paper: throwing improper waste into the blue container causes contamination of the fraction, making it difficult or even impossible to recover the material from that container. What kind of waste should not be thrown in here? Among others, receipts, used tissues, dirty paper bread bags, juice and milk cartons, breakfast and baking paper, or covers and leaflets with so-called glossy paper (with a plastic foil).
What about the black container for mixed waste? It's not like we throw everything here that won't fit in the paper, plastic with metals, glass, and organic waste containers. It is also not allowed to throw:
These wastes should be taken to the PSZOK, which stands for the Selective Collection Point for Municipal Waste (check on the map where you can find the nearest one). In the case of medicines, they can be returned to most pharmacies, and many electronic equipment stores offer free collection of batteries, light bulbs, or electronic waste.
Why is this so important? For example, one misplaced watch battery can contaminate up to 400 liters of water. Mercury, bromine, chromium, lead, or freon can enter the environment from damaged and unprotected electronic devices. As you can see, it's not worth the risk - it's better to collect unused electronic waste at least once every six months and take it for free to the appropriate collection point.
.png)
Let's take a moment to revisit the concept of circular economy. It's an economic model (primarily concerning resource and waste management - secondary resources) that aims to keep items/materials in circulation for as long as possible.
In other words, instead of the standard, traditional approach (the so-called linear economy) characterized by the principle of "take, use, dispose," in a circular economy, we use every means possible to keep an item in use for as long as possible, rather than producing an entirely new item from newly extracted/manufactured resources (such as repairing it or passing it on to someone else - even for a fee). It's worth fighting for because the circular economy is a crucial tool for mitigating the effects of climate change, the depletion of resources, and the inundation of the world with waste. If the topic intrigues you, you can explore articles prepared for our hosts. Here you can find the first part.
We can practice circular economy in our daily lives by adhering to the 6R principle:
We recently conducted a short survey where we asked you about what encourages and annoys you about segregation while traveling. You can find detailed results in this article.
The most important information has been passed on to our hosts. And because they are really cool people, we anticipate that many segregation conveniences await you during future visits. It's also heartening that practically the entire group surveyed (97.5%) makes the effort to segregate waste both at home and while traveling. Keep it up!
Will segregation solve waste problems? In our opinion, no, because the most important action is to reduce consumption of new things if we can still use those that are already available on the market (cheers to all vintage shops, swaps, and second-hand groups). And although from the consumer's point of view, segregation is the last action in the network of produced goods, it is still a very important action for saving natural resources (and ultimately lower prices for us – consumers).
What do we leave you with today? You can print out the 6R rules and keep it in a visible place to reinforce habits that are friendly to the planet. It's good to add to the repertoire of kindness towards the environment a few general principles that, despite their rightful association with truisms, are worth constantly reinforcing in social consciousness.
As always, we believe it's worth making even symbolic efforts. Seemingly insignificant, yet perhaps by throwing a cup into the right container, some fish will sleep peacefully, without plastic in its throat.
