The most common type of waste that is not correctly sorted is biowaste, especially refuse from kitchens. Photo: KK / BD.
Prague, April 11 (CTK) – Almost three-quarters of the trash that Czechs leave in normal waste bins could still be sorted, according to research by JRK and the Institute of Circular Economy, conducted in 2021 and 2022.
The most common type of waste that is not correctly sorted is biowaste, especially refuse from kitchens. This is followed by plastic material, paper and textiles.
“The analysis clearly shows that up to 71% of waste that ended up in municipal waste containers did not have to go to landfill, if it had been correctly sorted by municipalities or households correctly sorted it,” JRK spokesman Filip Postulka said.
Biowaste accounts for over one-third of the unsorted waste. One quarter of this was kitchen waste, and another 11% was garden waste
Experts have highlighted a project of the town hall in Opava in the Moravian-Silesian Region, where the residents of housing estates were taught to sort biological waste from kitchens.
Last year, the households received special containers to store this waste. At housing estates, larger containers were installed where people could put their waste..
“In the first five months, 31 tonnes were collected there,” Postulka said, adding that similar projects have now been launched in Prague, Teplice, Pribor, Klasterec nad Ohri, Vyskov, Ivancice and Slavkov.
There is also a problem with other types of waste.
Although on average people have to walk 89 steps to waste bins collecting plastic material, paper or glass, the municipal refuse still includes 8% of plastic material, over 6% of paper, 5% of textile, and 5% percent of glass.