Together to reduce waste
Almost 50 bags of waste were collected by our colleagues this spring as part of TeSzedd! But what else can we do to produce less waste?
In 2021, more than 3 million tonnes of municipal waste were collected in Hungary, which means no less than 336.11 kg of waste per person. *
However, in addition to the amount of waste generated, the illegal dumping of some of the waste generated in the city or in the countryside outside the city remains a serious problem. This adds to the damage to the natural environment, endangering our health, not to mention the aesthetic appearance.
The main reason for disposing household waste in public areas is not paying the compulsory public service charges. In addition, illegal collection or dumping of refuse at inappropriate times and places is also a serious problem. Many people still fail to properly dispose of construction and demolition waste.
DT-ITS teams at TeSzedd!
This spring, for the 11th time, the TeSzedd! waste collection movement was organized to clean up illegally dumped household waste, which was joined by our colleagues from Szeged and Debrecen. The scale of illegal waste dumping is illustrated by such an action, since even in a small area and with a small team, a huge amount of waste can be collected.
In Debrecen, this time our colleagues cleaned the dirt road leading to the József Nagysándor memorial pillar near the Tudáspark. The handful of teams collected almost 20 bags of rubbish, but also prepared other non-household waste for removal to one place.
In Debrecen, we have also been regularly organising litter picking campaigns in the Nagyerdő for years thanks to our colleague Miklós Iváncsits, who, in addition to participating, also takes on the preliminary field survey and on-site coordination. “Less litter falls on the cleaned-up area, and we have experienced this ourselves after years of returning to the Nagyerdő. Of course, there is still too much,” said Miklós, explaining the importance of litter picking, “It may be little that one person can do directly, but many others can follow the example, so it is important to take action ourselves. “
In Szeged, our colleagues took part in a similar action for the first time this year: they cleaned up the forest behind the office building in Rókus boulevard, collecting 25 bags of rubbish.
Anyone can report the location of illegally dumped waste using the https://hulladekradar.hu/ application.
Beyond waste collection – prevent it!
In our 2021 global campaign, we wrote in detail about the zero waste movement, which is responsible for generating unimaginable amounts of waste around the world. Globally, 2.12 trillion tonnes of municipal waste is generated every year, mainly due to overconsumption. Statistics show that 99% of all products purchased end up in the bin within 6 months.**
Therefore, we should buy less, and in the spirit of zero waste, we should not throw things that are not useful to us in the bin, as they can be useful to others. In the DT-ITS Zero Waste group, you can freely exchange items that you no longer need.
*Source: https://infostart.hu/gazdasag/2022/12/27/igy-szemeteltunk-2022-ben
** Source: https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/state-of-the-planet/world-waste-facts