Despite the introduction of the Uniform Waste Segregation System, Poles are still making costly mistakes. Sorting plant workers appeal: stop washing jars and yogurt cups, as it's a waste of water.
Do not wash glass and plastic packaging
Washing jars and yogurt cups is unnecessary because the cleaning process occurs at the industrial stage. Simply emptying them is sufficient.
The problem of multi-material packaging
Bread bags with a plastic window require separating the paper from the film. If this is impossible, they should go into mixed waste.
The JSSO rules in practice
In Poland, a division into 5 fractions is in force: paper, metals and plastics, glass, bio, and mixed. Separating lids from jars is crucial.
Correct waste segregation in Polish households still raises numerous doubts, leading to repeated errors that burden the recycling system. Sorting plant workers primarily appeal for people to stop washing dirty jars before throwing them into the green container for glass. Such action is considered unnecessary water consumption, as this raw material undergoes professional cleaning anyway during the processing stage. However, it is crucial to remove lids from empty jars; the lids should go into the yellow container designated for metals and plastics. Leaving the cap on the glass packaging hinders the mechanical separation of fractions on the sorting line. Fraction glass is one of the most recoverable materials, provided it is not contaminated with ceramics or porcelain.
Similar misunderstandings concern yogurt cups, which consumers frequently wash before discarding into the yellow bin. Experts indicate that thoroughly emptying the packaging of its contents is sufficient, and product residues do not pose an obstacle for the machinery in sorting plants. Washing plastic at home generates unjustified losses of drinking water, which contradicts the idea of environmental protection. Only empty packaging that does not require sterility should go into the yellow container for metals and plastics. The Uniform Waste Segregation System (JSSO) was introduced in Poland to standardize the rules for collecting raw materials across all municipalities. This system is based on a division into five colors: blue for paper, yellow for metals and plastics, green for glass, brown for bio-waste, and black for mixed waste. Poland, as a member country of the European Union, is obligated to achieve increasingly higher recycling rates, which is intended to limit waste landfilling.
Multi-material packaging, such as bread bags with a plastic window, pose particular difficulties, as they are often mistakenly placed whole into the blue container for paper. Proper disposal requires the consumer to separate the plastic window from the paper part of the bag. If such separation is impossible due to strong bonding of the materials, the entire waste item should be thrown into the black container for mixed waste. Another problematic item is the film from sausage packaging, whose segregation depends on the specifics of the material used by the producer. Although it most often should go into the yellow container, its diverse chemical composition means it is not always easily recyclable.