The results of the survey “Green City and Circular Economy” conducted by the Tallinn Strategic Management Centre show a significant increase in the separate collection of waste both at home, at work and in public places. /nginx/o/2023/12/08/15770852t1h254d.jpg)
Waste should be placed in a container in bulk or in a paper bag, a plastic bag is not suitable. Photo: Keskkonnaministeerium
The results of the survey “Green City and Circular Economy” conducted by the Tallinn Strategic Management Centre show a significant increase in the separate collection of waste both at home, at work and in public places.
According to Tallinn's Deputy Mayor for Entrepreneurship Margot Roose, city residents are increasingly aware of the importance of separate waste collection and are opting for the principles of a circular economy and sustainable development.
“More opportunities for separate waste collection also need to be created in public spaces to support city residents’ aspirations for a greener life,” Roose said.
At home and at work, most Tallinn residents separate their waste. Compared to previous years, separate waste collection has increased significantly. Paper and cardboard are most often sorted – 88% of people do this at home and 92% at work.
In addition, hazardous waste, various types of packaging, electrical and electronic waste, used clothing and food waste are sorted. The main obstacles identified by respondents were the lack of containers or their remoteness (50%), as well as insufficient awareness of separate waste collection.
Separate waste collection in public places has also increased – 88% of city residents use bins for different types of waste. At the same time, 60% of Tallinn residents believe that there are too few bins in public places, which indicates their willingness to separate waste even more actively.
The acceleration of the transition to a circular economy is confirmed by the fact that 86% of Tallinn residents have sold or donated things they no longer need in the last year, and 81% have repaired broken items. In addition, 69% of residents have reduced their consumption.
Over the past 12 months, 47% of respondents have used waste drop-off stations, up from 43% in 2023 and 41% in 2021.
Most often, over the past three years, excess furniture was left in homes (45% of respondents), which was most often taken to waste collection stations in their own transport, sold and given away. Construction waste and car tires were also handed over to the stations.
Over the past year, 86% of respondents reduced food waste – 79% more than they would in 2023.
