Separating waste is commonplace for most households these days. But why do we separate our waste, and what's the best way to separate raw materials?
Why is waste separation important?
By properly separating your waste, you'll have less residual waste. This reduces the amount of waste and is better for the environment. Valuable raw materials like PMD, paper, organic waste, and textiles are preserved and given a new life in new products. This means we need to extract fewer raw materials from the earth and waste less.
Furthermore, proper separation saves money. Disposing of residual waste costs money, while you can dispose of most raw materials for free. Separated waste is also cheaper to process than residual waste. Proper separation therefore helps the environment and keeps the costs of waste collection and processing manageable.
Does separated waste really remain separated?
Yes. Everything you separate will stay separated. Our vehicles collect one type of material per trip. At the recycling center, the different streams are collected and processed separately. For example, old glass becomes new glass, old paper becomes new paper, and organic waste becomes compost or biogas.
You sometimes hear that "everything just ends up in one pile." That's not true. Only when a raw material contains a lot of residual waste can it be recycled effectively. Then, unfortunately, it still has to be incinerated, and valuable raw materials are lost. That's why proper separation is so important.
Important for the environment and your wallet
Proper waste separation results in lower costs than if you have a lot of residual waste. The less often you dispose of residual waste, the lower the variable portion of the annual waste disposal tax becomes. At least, if you live in Gorinchem, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, or Molenlanden. Residents of Vijfheerenlanden do not yet have any control over some of the waste charges.