Pekela wants to drastically change its waste policy. Under a new proposal, residents are allowed to throw residual waste into a container together with plastic, metal packaging and drinks cartons (PMD).
Adjustment of the waste policy is necessary because De Pekelder has not mastered the separation of waste or simply does not care about the agreements that apply to the various waste flows.
Own bosom
Councilor Reiny Kuiper (PvdA) also takes matters into his own hands. “We as an organization may have also done too little in communication.”
Do not alter the fact that separating waste flows is too much to ask of the Pekelder. Especially in the PMD container, the one with the orange lid, a lot of waste is put that is not intended for that purpose.
Kuiper gives examples. “Textiles are thrown in. That’s wrong. Sandwich bags are also not allowed. And there are also pekelers who put plastic waste in a black plastic bag. That’s not allowed either. And did you know that the plastic containers containing plants are not all allowed in the PMD container? The brown one does, but the black one doesn’t. Just know it all.”
Many PMD supplied are rejected
Because waste is not separated correctly, a lot of PMD waste supplied is rejected. “We are talking about at least 75 percent. This means that we as a municipality incur additional costs, approximately 120,000 euros,” Kuiper calculates.
By not delivering plastic waste according to the book, Pekela is also missing out on 130,000 euros in income. All in all, this costs a household 45 euros per year. Pekela will therefore make a ton of adjustments for the PMD problems in the coming year. But the municipality cannot continue to do that on a structural basis.
Pekela wants to make it easier for residents by throwing residual waste and PMD material into a container. “We will no longer separate the waste at the source, but afterwards.” This also means that a container must be returned. The frequency of emptying the gray container will increase to twice a month.
Pekela wants to buy Omrin shares
The Frisian Omrin will almost certainly do the waste separation for the municipality of Pekela. The company then takes care of the entire communication. It also takes care of the distribution of the new containers and will chip all containers. Research has shown that there are many illegal containers in circulation.
The Pekelder council indicated to the council on Tuesday evening that it wanted to buy shares from Omrin. If the council agrees, it will follow the example of the municipalities of Groningen, Westerwolde and Westerkwartier, among others.
Wider opening of waste disposal station
Consideration is also being given to a wider opening of the delivery station. Currently, residents can only go there on Friday and Saturday mornings. The opening may possibly be extended to five days.
If the plan is approved by the council, it will be rolled out in January 2025.