Which waste streams typically end up in residual waste, whether rightly or wrongly? In this series, we put items like chewing gum, wet wipes, or stirrers on a pedestal one by one to discover if there are solutions for them. This week: wooden cutlery and stirrers.
No more residual waste
At the office, during Zero Waste Week, we initiated a significant change regarding waste separation. We bid farewell to the residual waste bin. This has its advantages. Our experts have already noticed an immediate difference in the amount of residual waste. By collectively thinking more carefully about which bin our waste should go into, there is less residual waste.
However, it also brings challenges to light. Where do you put items that would normally end up in the residual waste bin because it's unclear where they belong or because there is no designated place for them? These items are now in a showcase at our office. This way, they are in the spotlight and we are encouraged to think together about solutions.
In this series, we discuss one item from the showcase per blog. Sometimes we offer a solution, and sometimes we discuss the waste stream and ask you for ideas or solutions.
Wooden Cutlery and Stirrers
Today, we discuss wooden cutlery and stirrers. These have been replacing the plastic versions in many places in the Netherlands and Belgium for some time now. Wooden cutlery and wooden stirrers are organic materials, but they are not allowed to be disposed of with organic waste as a rule. Waste processing companies operate with a fixed procedure lasting several weeks, which is not long enough for wooden cutlery and stirrers to compost.
Solution 1: Worm Hotel
It is allowed to dispose of wooden cutlery and stirrers with organic waste if you have a worm hotel and the contents of the bin go there. Because wooden cutlery and stirrers are organic materials, they can be placed in our worm hotel according to Compost Cooperatie.
Making a disposable product like cutlery or stirrers from organic material instead of plastic is not necessarily more sustainable. Attention must be paid to the entire value chain of a product, including its end-of-life phase. It remains a disposable product and, if you do not have a worm hotel, it should go with residual waste.
Solution 2: Alternative Procurement
The best option is, of course, to use real cutlery, which can be infinitely reused. In this case, purchasing wooden cutlery and stirrers becomes unnecessary.
Solution 3: Seeking Your Ideas
Do you have ideas or solutions to avoid or sustainably process this waste stream? Let us know. Schedule an appointment or send us an email.
