The right answer is: none! Dishes that we no longer use or that are broken don’t go in the recycling garbage can, but they shouldn’t be thrown in the general waste either. Find out what to do with plates, glasses and cutlery in this article.
Cupboards have limited space and we can’t always fit in all the dishes we’d like to have. On the other hand, if you try to live with only the essentials, you’ll soon realize that you have too much stuff at home, and not always properly used. Whether for one reason or another, or simply because you want to exchange what you have for something new, you may have plates, glasses and cutlery to throw away.
The question is: “Where, though?”
First of all, remember that no dishes should go in the recycling can, not even the green one. You might think it’s the same material, but it’s not. “Whether it’s plates, cups, mugs or platters, the material they are made of doesn’t melt at the same temperature as the glass from which packaging is made. Therefore, these materials cannot be reused in the same way or using the same process. In addition, mixing this waste in the green recycling bin makes it impossible to recycle the other glass in it. For these reasons, they should not be placed in the recycling bin,” says Sociedade Ponto Verde (Green Dot Society).
The same entity gives a hint about what to do with these objects we no longer use.
“The most environmentally friendly solution for this waste is to take it to an ecocenter, a large park made up of several containers where you can leave recyclable waste that can’t be put in recycling bins.Once the materials have been placed in the ecocenter, they are forwarded by
waste management companies to other companies and entities that continue with the transformation and recycling process”.
Ecocenters can be found all over the country. In total, there are 231 of these parks in Portugal, in the north, center, south and islands. The address of each ecocenter can be found here.
Peggada adds a tip: there are mobile ecocenters around Lisbon, with a special space to put pots, pans and other kitchen utensils, including crockery. You can see when they will be in your parish in this calendar.
There are also charity stores, such as Dona Ajuda in Lisbon, which accepts donations of almost everything – from toys to clothes, books to crockery. Once the products have been properly sorted, they are put up for sale at low prices and all the profits from the sale go to help those who need it most, by supporting institutions.
Sociedade Ponto Verde’s Pack4Sustain tool lets you know the degree of circularity, the marine risk and the recommended recycling iconography of each package. The Pack4Sustain
Whether it’s because they no longer fit, have gone bad, or we simply don’t like them as much. When shoes reach the end of life,
It’s because we have too many, or because they’re no longer non-stick. Because the handles are broken, or simply because we’re looking for new ones.
This article promotes an action that encourages the reduction of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
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