AWISTA is increasingly promoting that district citizens do not mix plastic with organic waste. Even supposedly compostable plastic bags damage the recovery. The shirt bags are particularly annoying. Anyone can solve the problem - and the municipal company gives tips on this.
Landkreis - "#wirfuerbio: No plastic in the organic bin!" Is the title of a nationwide educational campaign to increase the purity of organic waste. It also contains far too many so-called contaminants in the district, especially plastic. The horror of every organic waste disposal company is the so-called shirt bags and supposedly compostable plastic bags. AWISTA board member Peter Wiedemann: “Waste management and climate protection are inseparable, which is why environmental protection does not just start at home, but already when shopping. Thanks to the clean collection - free of contaminants - each individual can contribute to the fact that organic waste becomes an economic good and that significant parts of it do not have to be disposed of as waste. ”Ultimately, this only drives up waste fees and damages the environment.
AWISTA currently collects more than 75 kilograms of organic waste per capita in the district or a total of more than 10,000 tons. According to estimates, around five percent of these - around 500 tons or around 35 gravel trucks - are contaminants. And they have to get out of the bio-waste as much as possible, at least their share has to be reduced to below two percent. Why? The organic waste from the district is fermented - primarily for energy production. “The remaining fermentation residues are used to produce compost, which is used to improve the soil and in agriculture. The plastic parts disrupt this process considerably and therefore must not be placed in the organic waste bin, ”explains the AWISTA in a message.
Organic waste: Shirt bags cause problems
Even a shirt bag, as it is offered as a container in markets for fruit and vegetables, can make a load unusable for use in nature. It therefore belongs in the yellow sack. The same applies to allegedly compostable bags. In principle, the statement is not wrong, it only takes a very long time and only takes place under certain conditions that are not available in bio-waste disposal. This means that these bags cannot actually be used in the district. Bags from bakeries also pose problems, as Wiedemann explains - those in which a plastic viewing window is embedded. These bags do not belong in the bio waste, even if paper bags can be used there. The plastic window makes the bakery bag uncompostable. These bags, Wiedemann advises, should be put in the paper bin, or in the yellow sack if necessary. When processing the waste paper from the bins, paper and plastic can be separated relatively easily.
Since January, the municipal company AWISTA has been involved in the nationwide environmental campaign to improve the quality of biowaste. With the information and education campaign "#wirfuerbio: No plastic in the organic bin!", The citizens of the district are to be informed, sensitized and repeatedly informed about which waste belongs in the organic bin and which does not. "The thoughtless disposal of plastic bags via the organic bin disrupts a 100 percent biological cycle and significantly increases the technical effort to sort out the plastic parts from the raw compost," says a message. Wiedemann said: "Costs that should not have to be incurred and are ultimately also responsible for the fee increase of around six percent in January."
Tips for the correct handling of organic waste
And how is it going now? The AWISTA says: “It is easy and practical to put the organic waste in suitable paper bags or kitchen paper in the organic bin. The separation list from the 'Dispose of organic waste properly' guide, which is published by AWISTA and is available at all 17 recycling centers or at the office, shows what belongs in the organic bin. ”The leaflet is also available on the AWISTA website at www. awista-starnberg.de/downloadcenter downloadable.
Especially in winter, everyone should pay special attention to organic waste. So that waste, especially moist or wet organic waste, does not freeze in the bin and then cannot be emptied completely, there are simple tips from the waste professionals:
- Also wrap damp waste in kitchen paper; if possible not in newsprint and not at all in graphic glossy paper.
- Do not compress organic waste, but make sure that the filling is as loose as possible.
- Place shrubs, branches or similar “airy materials” on the bottom of the organic waste bin.
- If you have the option, you should park the bio bin in a frost-proof location, for example in the garage, before emptying.
The question remains how to line the bio waste bin in your household. Newsprint is best suited, glossy prints such as brochures are unsuitable. Their colors contain heavy metals that have lost nothing in organic waste. Paper bags, such as those offered in supermarkets to replace the plastic bags that are no longer used, can also be used. But not after the first use, says Peter Wiedemann. Because: The production of these paper shopping bags requires raw materials and energy. You should therefore use them several times and only use them for organic waste when they are no longer suitable for shopping.
More information is available at www.wirfuerbio.de/starnberg or www.awista-starnberg.de. Wiedemann hopes that many will take to heart what is at stake and "make a small but important contribution to protecting our environment and our natural resources".