Recycling

Did you know that…

Every year in an average Estonian household approximately 400 000 tons of trash is created, which is equal to 300 kilograms per person.
A plastic bag takes 10-20 years to decompose in nature, while a metal can could take up to 100 years to decompose.
According to Estonian recycling law it is stated and obligated to collect and recycle trash at home, work and other public and non-public institutions.
Estonia has set a goal that from the year of 2020 all members of society should start recycling at least 50% of recyclable waste that is created at their home or workplace.

To make sense of the individual impact that each of us has on the environment, ecologists have come up with a measurement known as an ecological footprint. It’s the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.
On the supply side, a city, state or nation’s biocapacity represents the productivity of its ecological assets (including cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing grounds, and built-up land). These areas, especially if left unharvested, can also absorb much of the waste we generate, especially our carbon emissions.
Both the Ecological Footprint and biocapacity are expressed in global hectares—globally comparable, standardized hectares with world average productivity.
To sustain our planet Earth environmentally friendly - the economical footprint should stay below or within 1.8 hectares/ in a year.
The average ecological footprint of an Estonian citizen was 7,9 gha/year in 2007. This a problematic phenomen for all of us and we should take action upon it!

Follow the rule of 5 R-s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Re-purpose, Recycle.
Reducing Waste starts by refusing things. Whatever you still have and use you should reduce to save resources. Substitute disposables for reusable options, and instead of tossing things repair them! Separate what little trash you have left and make sure to recycle. Compost what’s left and let it decompose.

Find the specific container for your waste - there are separate ones for paper, glass and decomposable waste.
Set an example for your family and kids to reuse things as many times as possible!
Keep only practical things that you use daily and give away those that you do not need instead of throwing them to the trash bin.
Try to buy food that has been packed in an eco-friendly way. Try to buy things in bulk or with your own containers if possible.
Aim to decrease printing and paper usage - pay your bills online and print less if possible.
Shop with a bag made out of fabric instead of plastic of paper - use your bag many times. It’s stronger and there are many available in shops!
Re-use giftbags and avoid using plastic cups/plates etc.
Buy only as much as you need to maintain your lifestyle - do not overuse things if it’s not necessary.

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