As of: March 14, 2024, 10:02 a.m
By: Vivian Werg
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Waste separation is a vexing issue.
Consumers often disagree about what actually belongs in each bin - now a piece of paper caused a stir.
Munich – Whether used glass containers, yellow bins for light packaging, blue paper bins, brown organic waste bins or residual waste bins – the better private households are able to separate waste correctly and avoid incorrect littering, the more material can be recycled.
That's why, for example, it is still important to throw used glass into the correct containers for white, brown and green glass.
But in many apartment buildings and residential complexes, the topic of waste separation is a frequent topic of contention.
Not only between the tenants, but also with the landlords.
In one neighborhood, a notice on a garbage can caused a lively discussion online.
A Reddit user discovers a note on a garbage can and posts it online - and triggers a lively discussion © Screenshot/ Reddit/ r/aberBitteLamiert @ Responsible-Ad-8017
A Reddit user posts a note on a garbage can - some users react with ridicule
Germany is considered the “waste separation master”.
But not all waste always ends up in the right bin.
There are always those who don't take separation very seriously - much to the annoyance of the conscientious waste separators.
In the subreddit “r/aberBitteLaminiert, where users regularly share funny notes, letters and written interaction in everyday life, a note recently caused heated tempers.
“Laminated with tape,” writes a Reddit user, posting a photo of a handwritten note on a trash can.
“Pizza boxes are not waste paper because they are greasy and dirty.
And certainly not with leftover food.
Please put it in the trash,” it says.
To emphasize the anger and urgency, some words were underlined in red and reinforced with red exclamation marks.
The post promptly sparked a debate among Reddit users.
Notes about waste separation are causing a heated discussion on Reddit
“Nonsense.
Everything goes into the same garbage bunker anyway,” writes one user.
"OK, understood.
Pizza boxes for waste paper, like always,” jokes another.
But there are also users who can confirm the advice: “It is actually the case here and in Bavaria too that pizza boxes generally belong in the residual waste.
If this is seen, i.e. in the waste paper, the bin will not be taken away because of it.
But it doesn’t bother many people,” one person wrote in the post.
“We just say that “severely dirty” doesn’t belong in the waste paper.
I haven't found anything specifically about pizza boxes.
“I’ll ask the city,” commented another.
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The extent to which the topic of waste separation has a negative impact on many Reddit users and causes heated tempers can be seen in the following comments: “That’s still possible.
We dispose of glass bottles in paper waste, as well as residual waste in glass containers and, in principle, bulky waste wherever there is space.
“It’s better not to even talk about organic waste,” writes one user.
“When I think about everything that was thrown into the paper container in my apartment at the time.
From cigarette packs to clothing packaging and magazines, there was still plastic packaging on everything.
They were so bold, they threw everything in that had paper on it.
The highlight was someone who threw his broken fly screen with a wooden frame in there, because wood and paper are the same thing,” reports another.
Proper waste separation: This belongs in the recycling bin
Separating waste is part of everyday household life.
But while the majority are discussing eagerly, one user reacts with ridicule: “Nothing is more German than debates about waste separation.
No matter how you dispose of something, it's always wrong somehow."
Another, on the other hand, has little interest in separating waste: “Fortunately, I don’t care at all about waste separation,” writes another.
As the consumer advice center informs, the following things belong in the recycling bin:
Newspapers, magazines
Writing paper, cardboard packaging or wrapping paper
However, the following are taboo:
fax and thermal printer paper (e.g. receipts or tickets from the machine), impregnated and coated papers (e.g. cheese paper), carbon paper, Styrofoam, leftover wallpaper and dirty papers such as used tissues, paper smeared with leftover food.
These papers must be placed in the residual waste bin.
Accordingly, dirty pizza boxes with leftover food belong in the trash.
But what belongs in the yellow bin also regularly causes uncertainty among many consumers.
Efficient recycling starts at home
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 40 million tons of household waste are generated in Germany every year.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, it is a legal obligation for consumers (Section 13 of the Packaging Act) to dispose of glass, paper, cardboard and packaging not in the residual waste, but in the designated collections.
According to the Circular Economy Act, incorrect waste disposal and separation can even be punished with a fine of up to 5,000 euros.
Instead of being burned with residual waste, valuable resources can be recovered from the packaging during recycling.
According to the Nature Conservation Association, in order to produce high-quality recycled material from household waste, the waste must be as little contaminated as possible.
(vw)