But then it has to be done right. Used pizza boxes therefore do not belong with waste paper, but in the gray container, despite the fact that they are made of cardboard. So it is worth paying attention. And what about those cardboard cups and, for example, cartons that used to contain juice? They go into the PMD container, the container with the orange lid. Because although they are largely made of cardboard, there is a plastic layer in it.
“Actually, separate collection is not that difficult,” says Spronk. Dry newspapers and leaflets go into the old paper, clean cardboard boxes and window envelopes are also allowed. And what goes into the PMD container? “Plastic packaging, metal packaging and drink cartons, so packaging material. Hard plastic is not allowed, such as a bucket, garden chair or a swimming pool for the garden, but washing-up brushes are also prohibited. This does not fall under packaging. And throw something away in the PMD container, don’t put this in a black plastic bag, but in a transparent one. Waste processors want to see what’s inside. Otherwise, this bag of waste will be fished out and the entire load of waste can be rejected.”
All vegetable, garden and fruit waste is allowed in the green container. “So only plant remains, faded flower, mowed grass or leaves. That is not very complicated.”
What Area employees also regularly find among the waste from the gray containers is textiles. “People often think that textile should still be usable if you throw it in the textile container. But that is not the case, we can already reuse a broken sock,” says Sponk. The fibers contained therein are used, for example, to make insulation panels for cars or in the construction sector. “There are two conditions when collecting textiles. There must be no paint on it and no grease stains in the clothing.”
Reusing waste for new products. The possibilities are already great. But there is an important condition, waste must be properly separated. And that can be improved even more, according to Area’s annual report for 2022. In the municipality of Coevorden, for example, 34 percent of collected PMD waste was rejected. In Emmen this was 28 percent, in Hoogeveen 22 percent.
Spronk: “At a waste processor, the waste that we bring is inspected. If the waste that has been thrown into the wrong container exceeds a certain percentage, then the entire load is rejected. This means that it is burned in the old-fashioned way. For us, this also means that we don’t get money for the waste, but have to pay for it. Fortunately, this is getting less and less.”