This article is about yet another habit which if adopted will add a drop to our ocean of contributions which will help save our planet. We just need to tweak our auto-wired brain a little bit for it. I decided to write this in a Q&A format just to make it easy to follow.
What is waste segregation? Often called as waste sorting, Waste segregation is a specific step in waste management which involves dividing waste at the source. Waste is divided into wet waste(compost) and dry waste. Dry waste can further be divided into recyclable vs non-recyclable/trash categories, this depends on local waste management techniques which differ not only from country to country but also might vary based on where one lives. This is now a common practice in India, United states and most European nations. Okay this was not interesting but gives idea about what we are going to talk next.
Why is waste segregation important? Waste segregation prompts reusability of whatever has been wasted thus reducing the eventual waste which will end up in landfill. Wet waste reused for generating manure or energy(in form of biogas). Paper, cardboard, glass, metals, selective plastics etc. are recycled or up-cycled. If we divide the waste that is generated then eventually it is less waste generated. Now some of us curious souls might question of why do we need to do it at source i.e. homes, businesses etc. why cannot this be done at waste management facilities at a much larger scale. There are some facilities around the world which do this but the success and hence the adoption of this method is less. There are multiple reasons which preclude this. Major ones being cost and effectiveness. The cost for investing in the setup is extremely high and unmanageable which is hard for governments to afford or value is less. And effectiveness is reduced due to contamination. When all the waste is mixed into a one big pile it is highly likely whatever things could have been salvaged from it will be rendered unusable due to mixing and decay. The best possible way which optimizes cost, effort and reusability is to divide waste when putting it in bins.
What is going wrong right now? People are good at ignoring the waste segregation step when throwing waste. Whether it be just the step of doing this at home or outside. I have often seen people throwing everything together in one bin when in public places like airport, shopping malls and even at my workplace. Presumably the reason for this can be attributed to either lack of time, lack of awareness or lack of information. Not to mention, waste segregation can also be confusing sometimes. What goes where is hard to gauge so it can be one of the reasons that might be putting some of us off(I have provided some information on some commonly used confusing items later). And at homes, People fail to follow the first step of having multiple bins maybe because of just the sheer amount of effort involved in doing so. Maintaining three bins will require 3 times the effort, right?
How do we help? Let’s see how we can apply ourselves. Start at home. Most apartments and managed communities provide facilities to recycle and compost. All around the world governments are providing public facilities to divide waste such that what ends up in landfills can be reduced. We just need to put in the one time effort of having this setup at home. Also space or decor for 3 bins is not an issue anymore. Niche inventors out there have gone ahead and solved that problem as well for us. Checkout this sleek bin with three compartments. And the creative ones amongst us can come up with their own ways of solving this problem. Next to solve the problem of throwing this in the right bin we can just think about being more mindful(this quality is what we want to have for almost everything we do in our lives). It is one simple step and does not take so much time, it is an implicit step of being aware. In public places reading the signage or posters on the bins before throwing anything in helps too. I think this will only take as much time as checking out advertisements on billboards. It doesn’t seem so hard does it.
Finally, here is a short guide to demystify what waste can be thrown where. I have written down this for myself so that I can just remember this. In the beginning even I had to look around, google etc.
FUN FACT: The triangle symbol behind plastic boxes is not a recycle symbol it just lists the type/grade of plastic. There are 7 types of plastic which are based on the material type and not all are recyclable. This blog sums it up well otherwise googling it gives loads of other trusted resources.
Finding out what can be recycled is the key. One common mistake is throwing contaminated(generally food) containers in recycle. Contaminated items make everything else in recycle bin also non-recyclable. Plastic bags surprisingly are controversial and mostly do not belong in recycle(Check local guidelines). In India and United States that is definitely the case. There are dedicated facilities which recycle these in US though but one cannot put these in normal recycle bins(often called as curbside recycling). To summarize following objects can be recycled: Clean/Washed glass, tin/aluminium cans, paper, cardboard, PET bottles all can be recycled. Below is a list of some takeaways on everyday items on if they can be recycled or composted
- Pizza box without the grease lining sheet. If Pizza Box is very greased it does not go in recycle(It goes in compost or trash).
- Tetra paks from milk and juices is recyclable.
- Bubble wrap and other thin plastic bags cannot go in recycle.
- Amazon plastic delivery envelopes cannot be recycled.
- Wrappers from chips, cookies and snacks are not at all recyclable.
- Stryofoam Coffee cups are not recyclable even when rinsed. (If cups have compostable mark then they can be thrown in compost else they belong in trash)
- Compostable Food containers(often have compostable written) can be thrown in compost without rinsing.
- Plastic Food Containers when rinsed can be recycled.(1&2 grade plastics are generally recyclable. If it is something else then checking with local facilities might be a better idea)
- Plastic line Cardboard food Containers belong in trash.
- Washed detergent, milk, shampoo bottles etc. can be recycled.
Here is a guide from Seattle Public utilities which makes it super convenient on finding out what can be thrown where. There might be other similar guides for areas you live in. Otherwise the above summary generally applies to all places. I hope this topic might help all of us. On another note I believe even a better way to help is not generate waste at all but lets keep that for some other time.