Fewer people considered waste sorting as a hobby of theirs. Few people like to stick their hands into a garbage disposal, pick out rotten vegetables from paper, open stinky meat wrapped in plastic, or pour milk soda sitting in its can for a week.
Some are bothered by segregating garbage before throwing it in the garbage disposal bin. Aside from taking up time and energy, distinguishing between organic waste and non-organic waste is not something they are eager to do.
The 5 most important things to remember about waste-sorting
Depending on the facilities and technologies within a country, waste separation standards are somewhat different among countries. You should ask yourself many questions, such as: which type of plastic can be recycled, which kind of food should be separated from others, what constitutes hazardous waste, and so on. Educate yourself on waste regulations in your country.
Waste falls into three categories:
- Waste from organic matter is considered organic waste, including food, drink, meat, vegetables, and other organic products that quickly degrade. Paper and wood do not qualify as organic waste because they take more time to degrade.
- Materials other than organic waste: plastics, glasses, papers, wood, metal, and aluminium.
- B3 wastes include hazardous and toxic wastes. B3 wastes are regulated under Indonesian Law 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management. In addition to used batteries, hairspray, pesticides, detergent, floor cleaner solution, and detergent, several things are considered B3 wastes and should be separated from the rest.
Some products that are currently not recyclable (at present) are mixed-material waste.
- Because the cartons are made of paper that is layered with an aluminium matter for better insulation-which is hard to separate and is therefore not recyclable.
- Once exposed to water, paper quality will significantly decrease; recycled products will also suffer from this degradation.
- It is better to separate Styrofoam from the rest of the recycling materials since this type of plastic is highly combustible.
Ensure that your waste is organic and that your non-organics are separated from your organics. Before tossing out juice plastic bottles or snack containers, ensure they are dry. You should pay more attention to it since trapped organic waste can produce greenhouse gases/methane gases that can explode if accumulated for some time, in large quantities, and exposed to a certain amount of heat.
Take a little extra time to sort through your nonorganic waste. Put out the paper from plastic and the glass from aluminium. Also, check the plastic resin codes, which are HDPE and styrofoam, and place them in separate bins. Keeping a clear separation between plastic bottles (usually made of 1-PET) and bottle caps (typically made of 2-HDPE) is one of the easiest ways to recycle.
Many people don’t realise that over 90% of the waste generated in Europe comes from business activity. Less than 10% of waste comes from private households. It is vital for businesses to efficiently sort out waste to increase how much they recycle.
Businesses must sort their waste at the source to produce high-quality recyclable materials. The global push for recycling relies on companies taking responsibility for sorting waste.
By utilising waste sorting and baling systems, it is now possible for companies to process their waste on-site, increasing the amount of industrial waste that can be recycled and repurposed.
To become sustainable and preserve our planet for future generations, businesses should sort and recycle their waste.
Waste Sorting: What Is It?
The process of sorting waste involves separating all the refuse your business generates into different types. The separated waste is then recycled or disposed of differently, depending on the style.
The amount of recyclable material that ends up in landfills is high if no waste sorting system exists. While smaller businesses can sort their waste by hand, larger corporations can opt to save time and implement automated waste sorting systems.
Sorting waste: How to do it
Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) collect waste and sort it before recycling. They usually transport certain types of waste to a separate facility for processing.
In addition to cardboard, plastic, glass, and compost, other types of waste are collected on-site and transported to recycling facilities.
You may want to consider investing in your own waste sorting and baling system for your business to reduce the amount of time and effort involved in sorting waste.
In industrial waste sorting systems, there are different types of systems available. Some of these use fans to sort material by weight. Others use magnets to separate metals from non-metals.
A shredder can reduce large items into smaller pieces, making storage and transportation much easier for some waste materials, like wood and plastic. A screen and density separator separate different sizes.
After sorting and compressing waste, the bales are carried to manufacturers for use as raw materials.
Waste Management Plans: How to Create One
The best way to improve waste management in your company is to develop a waste management plan. Once you have evaluated your waste production, you can develop solutions for how to handle it.
To reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills, you need to identify the type and volume of waste you produce.
By working with your suppliers, you can suggest changes that will reduce unnecessary packaging, reducing the amount of waste your business produces.
Several countries, such as the United Kingdom, require companies to comply with government regulations if they use or produce packaging in a certain amount. This includes reducing the amount of packaging that ends up in landfills. In violation of these regulations, you may be prosecuted and fined.
You can also supply your waste material directly to local businesses that can recycle it. Doing so can boost the recycling rate of waste material your company produces.
By identifying these companies, you can ensure that your sorted waste is collected and recycled by private companies working in partnership with local governments to process and recycle waste.
Sorting waste has environmental benefits
In addition to recycling more material, sorting waste at the source keeps each category separate, so fewer landfills are needed.
There are numerous examples of landfills leaking toxic waste into surrounding soils and waters that have a negative impact on the local ecosystem.
As a result of these piles of garbage, vast amounts of methane are generated. Methane is one of the most critical players in global warming because it traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
To minimise landfills’ size, recycling as much waste material as possible is best. A valuable resource can be transformed from what was previously trash into what’s practical.
What are the benefits of sorting waste?
Even though waste sorting is not mandatory, the EU pressures countries to comply with the Waste Framework Directive’s objectives. Yet companies still have an ethical obligation to reduce waste going to landfills.
Currently, recycling regulations vary from country to country, but the trend is for companies to be responsible for recovering and recycling their waste.
As a result, more stringent regulations regarding waste sorting and recycling will soon become mandatory to increase the amount of recycled waste from 38% to 55% by 2025.
What are the benefits of waste sorting for your business?
You can reduce the cost of waste disposal by sorting waste and reducing your business’s environmental impact.
You will pay less for weekly waste removal with less non-recyclable waste because you will sort and recycle most of it.
As the circular economy grows, more businesses will be willing to pay for high-quality bales of recyclable material. This provides an additional revenue stream.
The waste material you are selling must be well sorted and packaged. Manufacturers who use the waste must know that every bale belongs to the same category.
It is also advantageous to recycle to improve your company’s image. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the downstream waste produced by the products they purchase. You can improve your company’s image by publicly promoting its sustainability.
Sorting and baling waste can benefit various industries
Many types of businesses value waste sorting and baling machines.
Distribution centres benefit the most. These companies produce a lot of cardboard packaging waste. Automated sorting and baling systems offer an easy way to improve their waste management system.
This equipment assists recycling centres in sorting and compressing their waste. Materials such as plastic and metal are often baled.
In addition to creating a great deal of unwanted material, paper and cardboard mills also make a great deal of cardboard waste. The waste is compacted using an automated sorting machine into lower-grade chipboard using a computerised sorting machine.
In the automotive industry, scrap metal is generated by pressing metal components. Without a baling machine, this waste metal would be challenging to handle. Once compressed into a bale, it becomes more convenient to transport and sell.
Conclusion
In this fast-paced environment, waste sorting is significant. Every day we are introduced to new materials, new production methods etc. However, we all need to ensure what can be recycled, what can be repurposed and how to throw away the items that cannot be adequate. It is crucial for our well-being. The good thing is that there are always specialists, like waste removal companies, that can help you with information or service.
