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Me Janne de Hoop

3.2 Actual trend and initiatives

This section will describe and analyse the actual trends and initiatives in the current waste system on Texel. It describes the strategies from the municipality as well as the local initiatives.

3.2.1 Strategies from the municipality

In the document ´Grondstoffenplan´ (Texel, 2013) the municipality describes several strategies, which mainly focuses on the better separation of the waste on Texel. They are trying to achieve a better separation of the materials that can be re-used. The aim is to have 70% separated waste from households in 2020. They came up with two solutions to
achieve this goal.

Differential rates (‘Diftar’)

Diftar is a fiscal instrument to make the inhabitants of Texel more aware of their behaviour to buying goods and throwing things away. Instead of dividing the costs of waste over all citizens equally (collective), the costs will be calculated per household to the amount of waste they produce. Shortly said: ‘the polluter pays’. Each household pays a standard amount for their waste, plus an extra amount, which is based on the amount of waste they produce. In general, the effect is that households produce less waste and that the separation is more accurate.

 

Diftar works with a card or chip in both underground and normal containers. This chip or card contains data about the address, colour (grey, green or blue) and the volume of the container. Special equipment registers every clearing of the normal container or every use of the underground container. On this basis, the variable costs will be calculated.

 

This system is already used in a few municipalities throughout the country. Here they also found a few disadvantages of the system:

  1. To prevent the people from putting waste in someone else’s container, the container needs to be able to be ‘locked’. This comes with extra costs and it’s not making it easier for citizens.
  2. People try to wait as long as possible with clearing the container, which can lead to
    stench. Next to that it is possible that people, to save costs, throw their
    waste in an other container. This can cause irritations.
  3. There is an increased chance for litter, waste that’s being dumped in nature or in street or company containers. This is a problem in some municipalities.
  4. On Texel there is a high possibility of dumping the waste in containers in holiday parks or in public containers.
  5. This system requires a big investment in technologies, materials, systems, software
    and administrative support.

 

Reversed collection

The essence of reversed collection is that the focus is on a proper service by collecting the reusable materials from households frequently. With a proper segregation of the waste, little residual waste is left over. The citizen can bring this to an underground public container (or it’s picked up less frequently). The clearing of separated waste is more frequent, thereby relieving the people. So better service to stimulate the right behaviour. This reversed collection also means that the citizens should see the waste more as valuable materials. Next to changing the methods of collecting, reversed collection is also focused on the process in which the people are more aware of their behaviour with waste/materials that are used in house.

The basic principles of reversed collection are:

  1. Separation of the waste as much as possible at the source.
  2. High service for valuable materials that are put to waste frequently and/or with a high mass, like plastics, paper, GFT, and facilities for large garden waste.
  3. Rewarding the right behaviour with comfort; for example giving the right sized containers
    with a proper clearing schedule.
  4. Continuing of service provided for valuable materials that are put to waste less frequently and/or with low mass; maintain, but intensify/facilitate where it’s needed, the current collection structure for glass and textiles.
  5. Lower service for residual waste, low frequent and part of small household waste.
    Preferably no collection at home, but let the people bring it to underground infrastructure.
  6. Lower service for everything that’s worthless/low frequent and part of large household waste. Re-usable parts of waste should be brought to second hand shops (product re-use) or waste collecting station (material re-use).

 

3.2.2 Initiatives from citizens

Several initiatives have been developed by locals. An example is Museum Galerie Maria Roelofsen. At this place Roelofsen exhibits, sells and makes art of waste that she finds on the beach. Plastic objects combined with rope, wood, paper or other materials are given a new life in an unique piece of art. Her final goal is to create a museum for recycling art: a
place for artists from over the world to show that waste actually doesn’t exist.

 

Another initiative is MyBeach, which is aiming on 100% waste free beaches. They started with setting up a small zone on the beach. The idea is that the visitors of the beach keep this zone clean. It is recognizable with special elements, like information signs, extra garbage bins and beach flags. Companies near the beach are closely involved in the realisation, communication and organisation. In 2015, 5 beach pavilion owners participated in the program.