In 2020, Getlini Eko reported that unsorted municipal waste accounted for around 300 thousand tons each year, which is further directed to a sorting plant, which in turn attempts to distinguish between biodegradable waste with different types of mechanisms. At the time, it was also pointed out that, in terms of efficiency, waste sorted at home would be the best-quality solution.
A year later, the number of bio-waste containers in Rīga has risen from 120 to 700. In 2021, an additional 800 containers are scheduled to be installed in Riga and its surroundings.
Collected bio-waste is further used to generate gas and compost which, depending on its quality, can be used for roadside greenery, parks and cultivation projects. Getlini Eko has built a new plant where this will be done using biological waste collected from the containers and also that separated mechanically from general waste.
“We have to sort more in Latvia than we do today, because in line with our own goals for sorting and recycling waste, we need to recycle half of the municipal waste we create in 2025. In 2035, it is 65%, but today we are recycling around 30% of the total amount of municipal waste generated,” said Guntats Levics, spokesman for Clean R.
In brown biodegradable waste containers, food waste, peels, bones and fishbones, and flowers can be discarded. The only thing you shouldn't do is throw garbage in bags. If the waste is stored in a bag, the contents must be discarded in a brown container, but the bag itself must be discarded in a yellow or municipal waste container; the other option is to put everything in a bucket and empty it, explained Guntars Levics. This applies also to paper bags and biodegradable plastic.
