Environmental activist Bea Johnson said: the first step is to refuse. It follows the reduce, reuse and only then recycle (for those who want to go further can go to the compost – or rot, in English). These are the five Rs that rule the ideology of zero waste, although it is difficult to apply them all the time — not only are we not perfect but around us the disposable continues to govern.
In general, people are specially focused on one of the R’s, recycling and, for this, we have ecopoints of different colors to help distinguish where each waste goes. But there are only three — blue, green and yellow — for a multitude of objects with different characteristics.
Well, if we all know where to place the paper and the plastic bottles, where do things like CDs, batteries, cork, and wood go, for example?
Some of the solutions we discovered right at the beginning of Peggada,when we wrote about the Waste App, a tool that everyone needs to have on their phone for waste related questions. Equally useful is the site Onde Reciclar (Where to Recycle).
What to do with cork stoppers after a nice wine-draping dinner? You may place them in the Green Cork boxes, a project launched in 2008, that can be found at stores like Bom Dia, in Alvalade, or Continente in Quinta do Ameal, in Viana do Castelo, as example. Something that is no longer new, but it is always good to remember, is the electron point, at which you must put the batteries and batteries used in the end of life (whenever you don’t have the possibility to acquire the rechargeable ones).
As for CDs, they are part of the undifferentiated waste and there are no collection points for recycling, although you can use the third R: reuse. The Quercus Association suggests that you question schools and nurseries if they would like to receive these materials to reuse in activities with children. The same can be done with coffee capsules, although for these there are several collection points at Pingo Doce stores or Nespresso or Delta ones. The music tapes, on the other hand, have numerous destinations, you may find the nearest ecocenter in the Waste App.
And what to do with the wooden pallets after cooking all the vegetables from the basket you received at home? If you no longer have room to turn them into bookshelves or toilet paper storage, the wooden boxes remain to be delivered to Renasxera company that deals with the process of recycling wood, which will serve, for example, to create bookshelves. The same work is done by Renascimento that receives wood waste and forwards it to the recycling industry. To make the delivery or request pick-up, just contact the companies. Another option is to see in the Waste App the nearest ecocenter. You’ll find it from Montijo to Santo Tirso.
Do you still have any questions? We know so and we will clarify them in a brief list of other objects that cannot go to the ecopoint:
- Home electronics: ecocenters of municipal systems, waste management companoes or at the stores at the moment you are purchasing a new equipment.
- Used tyres: you may deliver them when placing new ones in a concessionary or a car repair shop.
- Used oils: collection points of the Sociedade de Gestão Integrada de Óleos Lubrificantes Usados (Sogilub). You can find the locations here.
- End-of-life vehicles: deliver to one of the reception centers of the proper legal entities. Discover the list.
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