Articles on recycling from the former Hungarian versions of Waste Diver (Kukabúvár)

Holiday on the Container Islands

Summer was raving. At the beginning of July the more well-to-do Hungarian civilians tried to survive the heat on the Balear Islands, while the poorer ones chose Margaret Island (Margitsziget, in Budapest) or one of the lidos. We, however, organised a two-day trip to the Container Islands that is that in the recently finished HuMuSz house we held a forum about the questions of selective waste management and its recycling.

In several Hungarian municipalities NGOs just could not await for the local governments and providers to build the selective collection systems, therefore they began to organise collecting on their own. On the first day of the two-day program at the HuMuSz House the invited civil organisations introduced the collection systems, operated by them, then we had a discussion on how to solve emerging problems.

The farthest point of our exotic journey was Tura, 60 kilometres from Budapest, where the local government and the civil organisations organised the selective collection together. The presenter emphasised several times that selective collection could be successful only if a lot and constant attention is given to informing the population.

By the borders of Budapest, in Törökbálint, the Kerekdomb Egyesület (Roundhill Association) was building up their activities gradually. They started with paper collection in the schools, later under their leadership 14 000 dwellers selected 4 components of waste. The people had financial interests in having less “mixed rubbish.”

In 2002 in another small municipality near Budapest, in Kistarcsa the Rügyecskék Alapítvány (Budlets Foundation) opened its waste yard. The Foundation procured the necessary money for starting the yard from the support of the local government, from applications and individual donations. The waste yard is still operated by volunteers and in a year they collected 33 tons of recyclable waste.

As the last location, we heard about the waste collection done by several blocks in a housing estate. In 1995 the local activists persuaded 500 dwellers to dispose waste selectively just in one huge house.

The law students of Pécs are selecting (the writing of our member association in Pécs)

At the Faculty of Law of the University of Pécs (city, South-Hungary) the quantity of waste paper caught the eyes of many people. The number of the students at the faculty is approximately 5500. The leadership of our institution took our idea of starting a selective waste paper collection very positively. From the competition, announced by the Pécs Local Government at the end of 2003, the Green Club of Pécs (Pécsi Zöld Kör) won 90 000 HUF (370€) to start the program. Unfortunately, this amount was enough only to buy 30 wicker baskets and 1 container to collect dead batteries.

The program started on 1 February with a full support from the employees. The leadership of the Faculty made the selection of waste paper obligatory at those departments and offices where containers had been placed. The paper is taken from there by chosen people of the cleaning staff to special rubbish bins set up particularly for this purpose. From these bins the provider limited company’s transporter takes the paper to the place where waste is selected. The company signed on to transport the paper free of charge as often as we wish (regularly once a week or after being asked specially). With the free transportation of the paper the faculty did a good business, but the main motivation is that we know: the large quantity of unnecessary paper is recycled.

The Faculty of Economics is also very interested in the program which is a perfect example of an efficiently working collaboration between an independent civil organisation, the local government and the business sector. Taking courage from the success up till now we are planning to organise a more extensive program of selective waste collection (from a source of competition) that will set a good example for the other faculties, too.

Composting Program in Pécs

According to estimations, in Pécs the compostable waste takes up at least 20% of the communal waste. It is easy to admit that rubbish is taken from rubbish bins to landfills whose capacity of intake is definite. If someone is willing to collect organic waste selectively, then, obviously, less waste is taken from that person. If the charge of transporting rubbish is really by measurement, then it is not only the town that has benefits, but the saving is visible on the civilian’s bill, as well. I do not say that in Pécs everyone can see this connection, but it was surprisingly easy to find partners for our composting program.

The program in Pécs came into being with the whole town being involved: the local government and a firm provide the financial background and the transaction is arranged jointly by two civil organisations (the Public Funds for our Environment and the Green Circle of Pécs). Anyone could ask for a composting box; anyone who promised to use it regularly and according to its purpose.

The Public Funds for our Environment invited applications to the inhabitants. They had made two publications that reached the people through town programs and informing offices. Last year there was enough money to make 100 boxes and the demand was for almost twice as many: 190 households applied. The boxes were made of aesthetic, hard wood by the Green Club. The winning applicants could get the composting box in a waste yard, where – if they happened to go there- they were told about other possibilities of selective waste managment. To the easy-to-use and easy-to–transport boxes the applicants received a manual of how to set up and compost. Everyone had to pay a rental fee (1000 HUF for three years) to make registration easier. If someone, after the initial enthusiasm, can not cope with the task, she/he can give back the box and of course, the rental fee is paid back proportionately. No one has given up so far! At the end of the third year the box will become private property. We, also, were surprised by the great interest shown by the people. Our expert landscape designer was asked every day to give some advice and to help personally. He visited 56 locations giving practical advice to achieve a successful composting. Unfortunately, this year we could make and distribute only 80 boxes due to the increasing expenses. Requests from the people are arriving constantly.

Autumn, 2004

It does not work without people

New system of waste disposal in Törökbálint

In 2000 continuous selective waste collection worked only in less than twenty municipalities in Hungary. Our village, Törökbálint, was one of the settlements. The Roundhill Environmental Association and the local government started selective collection in 1998. The members of our association were concreting the ground of the waste islands, we informed the people and every Saturday morning, in freezing cold and in heat, we climbed into containers to select the rubbish that was mistakenly thrown into the containers. We also wrote applications, but the majority of the expenses were paid by the local government which made a contract with the firm that takes away the waste. We worked hard, but it was worth it. More and more people are selecting waste carefully in the village. They started to do it out of principle, but it also helped that the provider firm started to charge for mixed waste on the basis of volume. That time the quantity of selectively collected waste increased significantly. The system began to work, everyone knew where to throw the cap of the toothpaste and the aluminium cover of the sour cream.

Then – almost at the moment of joining the European Union – this spring the new system arrived in Hungary, as well. Although, we had been expecting it, we were almost swept away. For the past few years the introduction of selective waste collection has been requested in more and more municipalities. The providers built their own selecting factories gradually. Of course, this was not the same what had already worked in our village, therefore talkings about changing the containers started last year. Then, without any notice given, the old containers disappeared and new ones were put in their place. They look nicer indeed, and they are more practical than our old containers. The holes where rubbish is thrown in, are smaller, which makes the collected waste cleaner. The only problem is that we had already operated 9 waste islands and now only 6 are operating and less kinds of waste can be taken there. The people of Törökbálint had got used to the former system and did not understand what was going on.

However, soon we managed to put everything back to order, and the mayor supported us, too, he even provided money to change the system. Eventually, we managed to adjust the new system to our former traditions. Happy end? It might be, but only after a great struggle. In our case, the provider cared only about the waste, although we had already learnt that rubbish is created by the people. If we want to have an efficient waste management, then we have to realise that it is not waste which is the most important, but the waste producing human.

Does cans-compression solve every problem?

We heard the followings from the news of a TV channel called RTL Klub: “A non-profit company, formed to recycle aluminium cans, is working on introducing a Swiss system in Hungary. The system provides for itself, money needs to be invested to buy containers only in the beginning. The program of collecting cans has been working in almost 200 schools in Hungary for years, but by the end of the year the company wants to involve at least another 200 schools in the program. The institutions can earn a monthly 10 000-30 000 HUF from the collection of the cans and the investment is sponsored by the non-profit company.”

We calculated that to get a 30 000 HUF (approximately 122,5 €) income a month, 17 243 cans should be compressed (and of course bought beforehand…) in every month. Does it still worth it?

According to HuMuSz, the key of solution is not the can compression, but prevention! The leadership of the school decides on its own what to include in the contract made with the firm operating the school buffet, and whether soft drinks machines should be allowed into the buildings. We know that schools need income, but there might be a more important principle than money…It is depressing enough that many schools (while boasting about environmental education and education on how to lead a healthy life) believe that can compression is a good idea. Dear principals and teachers! Don’t you see that the school doctor is sad, our environment is being destroyed and the Cola company is laughing into its sleeve?

Our standpoint on the recycling of the aluminium cans

The production of aluminium is an energy demanding and environment destroying process. Possessing this knowledge the idea of recycling seems to be reasonable, since we can save more energy, produce less rubbish, and cause less pollution to the environment. However, according to the standpoint of HuMuSz:

The most important is to keep the order of prevention – reuse – recycle – disposal. Certainly, we do not want to question the importance of recycling, but we stick to our opinion that prevention or reuse should be given the chance at the first place. Apart from being extremely expensive, energy demanding, and environment destroying the production of aluminium cans is absolutely unnecessary. In the case of drinks’ packaging we support the deposit system, because glass bottles cause much smaller harm to the environment (since glass bottles are refillable approximately 40 times) than aluminium cans. The real savings would be if cans were not even produced – since they are unnecessary.

The possibility of recycling will further increase the already big sales of cans, therefore it works against prevention and reuse systems. From now on the enthusiastic consumer will be much calmer buying cans of beer and soft drinks since the can will be recycled, so it causes no further problems.

As a summary: we admit that the collection of aluminium cans is needed – since it is better if the aluminium is recycled instead of being taken to the waste dump -, we, however, miss the more complex environmental point of view focusing on prevention instead of popularising false solutions.

Spring, 2005

Exercise books made of recycled paper

Recycled paper… Exercise books… Exercise books made of newspaper… It sounds good. It would be really so good if only we could get some of them in this nicely situated Central European country…We have waste paper. We have waste paper collection. We have paper factories. We have technology. What is missing then? We can meditate on the problem, analyse economic factors, go through the state incentives (that are basically non-existent), ravel out circumstances, but out of these deeds there will not be recycled exercise books.

Since we got fed up with always just talking children about exercise books made of recycled paper, but could not show none, we decided to make steps... We got our “emergency money”, we looked for a graphic designer, a press, and recycled paper and we ordered the first exercise books made of recycled paper. The books have been already made. What we would like now is to reach schools, green shops and green organisations to pass exercise books to schoolchildren.

Well, this is the story how to purchase recycled paper exercise books in Hungary.