This is Sander. He is a garbage collector. Every day he and his colleagues drive through all the streets of Dronten, Biddinghuizen and Swifterbant to collect garbage. He loves his job: the nice contact with his colleagues and the freedom make that he always enjoys going to work. Sander likes to explain what is involved in separating waste.
'To clear up a big misunderstanding right away: we really do recycle this,' says Sander. 'Separating waste is not only good for the environment - I personally find those images of the plastic soup really awful - but ultimately also for your wallet. Residual waste is the most expensive waste stream to process and burning it is not recycling, it is gone forever. A double waste, then. Eventually you also notice it in the waste disposal fees.'
So what belongs in which bin? "I know that many people separate waste with the best of intentions, but unfortunately we see that it's not always clear what goes in the PBD bin and what doesn't. PBD stands for plastic, cans and drinking cartons.
3 products that do not belong in the PBD
1. Styrofoam
Hot on the heels of 1! Sander and his colleagues almost always see this in the plastic bin. Styrofoam is associated with household plastic, but this is so not. So no Styrofoam bowls either. Large pieces of Styrofoam may go to the recycling yard. Small pieces of Styrofoam belong in the residual waste.
2. Food scraps
A bowl of filet american that is still half full. A carton of yogurt that isn't empty. Beverage containers full of juice. If there is too much food residue among the plastic waste, it still has to be burned. Expensive and bad for the environment. Oh yes, potato chip bags are now allowed in the MSW bin.
3. Hard plastic and agricultural plastic
The PBD bin is for household plastic waste only. The bag around the head of lettuce, the packaging of meat products or an empty bean can, for example. If you bought a new sofa, put this plastic in your residual waste. Large pieces of plastic should be taken to the recycling center or disposed of with bulky waste. The same goes for agricultural plastic, which also does not belong in this bin. This is not packaging. The sorting machines are not designed for this either.
