Mixed waste bins still contain large amounts of recyclable materials that aren’t sorted correctly.
Looking at examples from cities in Sweden and Poland, this factsheet by Reloop and Zero Waste Europe shows how waste facilities can rescue these valuable materials using central sorting systems – helping the environment and saving money in the process. Among other benefits, central sorting systems lead to increased recycling rates, reduced CO2 emissions, and lower costs related to incineration and emissions trading.
While this extra sorting step is proving successful, it needs better recognition, support, and a level playing field between producers and waste processing entities to become more widely adopted.
Available in English.