10 Point Plan: 05 Avoid or reduce waste and separate your trash

5. Avoid or reduce waste and separate your trash

All the waste we bury or burn also serves to destroy Earth’s resources. So, if you produce a lot of waste, you also use up a lot of resources or prevent the more efficient use of these resources.

This is only one reason to keep your household waste production as low as possible. Maybe you are now thinking: But I’m already recycling a lot. I have a container for paper waste, biowaste, plastic waste, electrical waste, etc. Nevertheless, more than 40 million tons of household waste are generated every year. Germany is even a record holder for plastic packaging waste in Europe. The reasons for this are manifold ...

Organic cucumbers packaged in tubes, salad in a plastic bag or individually packaged biscuits are prime examples. However, additional packaging features such as dosing aids or elaborate seals also increase plastic waste. In addition, the trend towards smaller portions, mail order delivery and fast takeaway dining have drastically increased the use of packaging materials in everyday life.

Often we are not even aware of how much waste we actually produce. Salad unpacked, packaging in the waste bin – lid closed, all done – and the refuse collectors do the rest.

However, anyone who has ever walked through the streets of Cambodia or on the beaches of Fiji knows what happens if the refuse collection service does not come: people literally sink in the waste, and unfortunately, these are not isolated cases. Untended waste brings with it diseases, stench, pollution and wild animals in search of food. Many countries in the world have a very poor or no waste disposal and recycling system. This makes it all the more our responsibility, the responsibility of each individual, both on holiday and in everyday life, to keep our share of waste production as low as possible.

Recycling is not enough

Around 1 million tons of plastic waste from German households end up unsorted in residual waste and is incinerated. And only about 3/4 of the recycled plastic waste we separate is actually recycled. The rest is burned. A large part of the plastic, which ends up in bulky waste or electrical waste, also goes up in flames. This means that less than half of the plastic produced in Germany is recycled. Worldwide, only about 6.6% of all waste is recycled. Leading in recycling are North America, Western Europe, Japan and Korea. Nevertheless, even after recycling, there is still more waste left unrecycled in these regions than in all other regions of the world combined!

That recycling is so ineffective is mainly due to the materials. More and more composite packaging is being made of different materials, which are impossible to separate and thus recycle.

They are mainly mixed plastics and composites. So, a lot of packaging that contains solid and soft plastics, such as yoghurt cups with hard edges and bottoms and soft walls.

Or foil that is vaporized with aluminum, such as yoghurt lids. Beverage cartons such as Tetrapaks are also inseparable because they consist of cardboard, plastic and often aluminum firmly glued together.

However, recycling cannot be dismissed out of hand. Each ton of recycled plastic saves one ton of CO2 compared to plastic produced from petroleum. It is therefore important to recycle, but above all, it is important to recycle properly and to ensure that no soiled packaging ends up in recycled waste.

But recycling alone is not enough.

Your Task:

Keep track of the waste you produce. How much household waste do you produce during the week?
How much unnecessary waste do you produce?
WHow much more of this could you recycle with a few simple techniques?
Where can you save on waste?
Do you know how to recycle properly in your hometown?
Are you aware of what exactly goes into plastic waste containers and what doesn’t? - Inform yourself!

A few Tips:

Develop an awareness of the waste you produce
Buy at regional markets and purchase unpackaged products as often as possible
Avoid and do without products that contain a lot of unnecessary packaging materials & plastic (e.g. coffee capsules)
The less ready-made food products you buy, the less waste you produce
Try to reuse or recycle things in your household