Movement "Goal-99"
In Belarus, mini-films have been made that show
what actually happens to waste
after it has been thrown into a container for separate collection
About the project and mini-films
Many Belarusians do not sort household waste even when special containers are available. Why? Doubts about the feasibility of their actions and ignorance of what actually happens to sorted waste. Will the waste we collected separately really be recycled? Is there recycling in Belarus?
Especially for the "Goal 99" movement http://target99.by/, the institution "Operator of Secondary Material Resources" has made mini-films that show what happens to paper, glass, and plastic waste after they have been thrown into containers for separate collection. With this video, the Operator of Secondary Material Resources wants to show everyone who doubts that collecting waste separately in Belarus makes sense.
Filming and Implementation
There is a point because recycling exists in Belarus!
The mini-films can be viewed on the youtube channel target99 Belarus or found online under the hashtag #recycling99.
The filming of the mini-films took place in December 2015 in Minsk, Gomel, Dobruš, Grodno, and Borisov – at enterprises where sorting of separately collected waste is carried out, preparing them for use, as well as actual recycling of secondary raw materials. For this, timelapse filming and aerial filming techniques were used.
The implementation of the idea of the video "Recycling exists in Belarus" for the "Goal 99" movement was handled by Leonid Khvashchinskiy, who acted as the screenwriter, director, and operator.
Before starting work on this video, Leonid did not pay much attention to the topic of waste in Belarus. He had not heard of the "Goal 99" movement.
We asked Leonid if he currently sorts his household waste separately.
For reference: The "Goal 99" movement http://target99.by/ is a movement in support of separate collection of household waste, initiated by the Operator of Secondary Material Resources in 2015. The "Goal 99" movement unites the residents of our country around a common idea: "The situation with household waste in the country depends on each person. If you want things to get better around you – do a simple thing – collect household waste separately."
Results and Recycling Statistics
In 2015, residents of Belarus collected nearly 600 thousand tons of waste for recycling. The level of municipal waste utilization reached 15.6 %.
In 2015, residents of Belarus collected nearly 600 thousand tons of recyclable waste paper, glass, plastic, textiles, and worn-out tires. These are the wastes that can be reused after necessary processing – as raw materials in the production of new products from the same material (waste glass for new glass containers, waste plastic for new plastic products, etc.).
This waste was not simply buried in landfills. Thanks to being thrown into a container for separate collection or brought to a reception point, the waste was able to be sent to recycling enterprises.
What do the collected 600 thousand tons of waste mean and how significant is this volume?
The collected 323 thousand tons of waste paper will replace the wood of a forest the size of 1000 football fields in the production of new paper and cardboard.
To transport 164 thousand tons of collected glass waste, 4100 freight cars will be needed. A train with that number of cars would occupy the entire Minsk Ring Road. The use of the collected 164 thousand tons of glass cullet in the production of new glass will save as much electrical energy as all residents of a city like Mogilev consume in a month.
The collected 52 thousand tons of plastic waste is equivalent to 1,302,500,500 PET bottles. The energy saved from recycling that number of PET bottles is enough to power 1 million refrigerators for 17 months.
The Operator of Secondary Material Resources thanks everyone who supports separate waste collection in Belarus for Goal 99!
Billboards expressing gratitude to the residents of Belarus for their separately collected waste have been placed in Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Grodno, Brest, and Vitebsk.
What happened to the collected paper, glass, and plastic waste can be seen in the mini-films made for the "Goal 99" movement, which show the entire journey that waste undergoes to be recycled in Belarus: from collection and additional sorting of waste, preparation for the use of secondary raw materials to recycling into new products:
The mini-films can be found online under the hashtag #recycling99.
Thus, according to the results of 2015, the level of municipal waste utilization in Belarus reached 15.6 %. For comparison, five years ago, 9 % of municipal waste was recycled in the country. In 2010, nearly half as much waste was sent for utilization – 328.4 thousand tons.
We are used to comparing the level of waste utilization in Belarus with exemplary levels in EU countries. According to the EU statistical office, in 2014, the average level of municipal waste utilization in EU countries was 43.5% (in Germany – 63.8%). But this includes not only the reuse of packaging waste, tires, and textiles as secondary raw materials (what is called recycling), but also the composting of organic (food and plant) household waste. In EU countries, about 28 % of municipal waste is used as secondary raw materials.
For reference: The State Institution "Operator of Secondary Material Resources" is a non-profit organization that coordinates activities in the Republic of Belarus in the field of secondary material resource management.
The "Goal 99" movement http://target99.by/ is a movement in support of separate collection of household waste, initiated by the Operator of Secondary Material Resources in 2015. The "Goal 99" movement unites the residents of our country around a common idea: "The situation with household waste in the country depends on each person. If you want things to get better around you – do a simple thing – collect household waste separately."
