Over 25 tons of hazardous waste brought in by Tallinners during collection rounds

TALLINN - During the last two weekends of October, Tallinn residents disposed of 25.7 tons of hazardous waste and eight tons of usable items during collection rounds organized by the capital city.

Altogether 1,512 residents brought their hazardous waste to the collection points. Most visited collection points were in Mustamae, Haabersti, Nomme and Lasnamae city districts. Most hazardous waste was brought in from Pirita and Nomme districts, where there is a larger area of private houses. More than 50 percent of all the waste collected during the weekends was paint and varnish waste. The majority of waste brought in were paint, varnish and glue waste, of which there was 14.8 tons, electronics, 6.5 tons, and waste oils, 1.1 tons.

During the two weekends 998 residents brought in usable items. The highest number of donations was in Mustamae and North Tallinn city districts, with books and clothes being the most common. All usable items were handed over to the Recycling Center, which will recycle them.

Deputy mayor of Tallinn Joosep Vimm said that hazardous waste collection has proven its worth.

"The collection rounds have been going on for ten years now and the amount of waste collected has increased every year. We can see that if you make it convenient for people to handle their waste properly, they will take advantage of this opportunity," he said.

The residents of Tallinn can dispose of household hazardous waste free of charge in six waste collection points across the city on weekends all year round.