Every year Christmas finds in the blue container an unexpected ally. Opening gifts makes us visit more often than ever. During December and January, almost 20% of all the paper and cardboard that we throw into the blue container each year in Spain is collected, according to the Spanish Association of Pulp, Paper and Cardboard Manufacturers (Aspapel). The explanation is no mystery: the Christmas frenzy, Black Friday and January sales can turn our homes into a whirlwind of packaging, boxes and wrappers.
César Rico, technician at the municipal cleaning company Lyma in Getafe (Madrid), explains it clearly: “The volume of cardboard and wrapping paper that we collect skyrockets during these times and electronic commerce has added more fuel to the fire.” . This makes it sometimes seem like the blue container is overflowing and we can see boxes next to it, in the middle of the street.
One of the main reasons for the collapse is that many citizens do not take the time to fold the boxes before placing them inside the cubicle. «It is a small gesture, but it has a big impact on our work. If we do not fold the cardboard, the container fills with air and our trucks end up transporting empty space instead of useful waste, emitting more CO2 than strictly necessary,” he points out.
For the same reason, Rico wants to appeal to common sense: «Many times we see a box at the mouth of the container and we think it is full, but if we push it a little, we discover that there is more space inside. In fact, it is calculated that Each citizen has about 10 liters of blue container per day to recycle paper and cardboard; Folded, it would take up more or less the same space as a mop bucket.
In any case, if after pushing the contents of the blue container in we see that it is full, we must take into account why we should never leave paper or cardboard on the floor. First of all, the waste law is clear on this matter: its abandonment in the urban environment is a serious infraction punishable by fines that vary depending on the community. But, in addition, this poorly established habit is harmful to the environment.
“In the best case scenario, a colleague will get off the truck, fold the abandoned cartons and place them inside the blue container,” says Rico. This keeps the truck running, increasing the carbon footprint of the collection and the time it takes to complete. «On the other hand, when leaving the cardboard on the floor it can get stained with residues such as oil or paint, making it unusable for recycling», he points out. For this reason, the technician encourages you to “wait a couple of days” for the container to be emptied.
Are there containers missing?
In Spain there are many blue containers: according to the figures managed by Ecoembes – the non-profit entity that manages recycling in Spain – we have more than 650,000 yellow and blue, one every 100 metersin addition to recycling points available throughout the territory. For their part, city councils and provincial administrations usually reinforce collections on Christmas dates.
In Getafe, the service has been increased the day after Epiphany and they have been optimizing the routes for years. take as little time as possible when making collectionsas well as to reduce the CO2 emitted by trucks. “With only three routes, we collect all of Getafe, which leaves us more time and ability to react if they need us in a container that has been filled,” says Rico.
However, blue bin management is not without challenges. Small businesses and hospitality establishments, which also face a flood of boxes at this time, usually resort to it. «Without a adequate door-to-door collection of commercial cardboard –whose design corresponds to public administrations, which can count on advice from Ecoembes–, this volume of waste can contribute to the collapse of the blue container,” says Carlos Arranz, manager of Ecoembes in Madrid, Murcia and the Canary Islands.
Furthermore, we must take into account that Each municipality has a different frequency established of collections around variables such as population or size: «In some places, the route is set annually. A filling estimate is established based on what is usually collected, as well as the optimal frequencies so that the containers do not overflow, but that does not mean that they cannot be filled more than expected on designated dates.
In these cases, Arranz points out that it is important to “fold our waste well and avoid leaving the boxes outside, because They fly away with the wind or get wet with the rain.which makes its subsequent management and recycling very difficult, increasing the risk of environmental contamination. On the other hand, citizen collaboration is very noticeable, both in the daily life of the workers and in the collection and recycling figures. In 2023, Ecoembes managed the recycling of 585,193 tons of paper and cardboard packaging, 4.6% compared to 2022.
But, if the blue container at Christmas teaches us anything, it is that the simplest gestures can have a great impact. All the packaging recycled last year by Ecoembes – including plastic, wood and metal, as well as paper and cardboard – saved 9.84 million MWh of energy; 15.53 million m3 of water and avoided the emission of 1.7 million tons of CO2. So, this year, along with the toast and the lights, let us remember that fold a box or push a wrapper to the bottom of the blue container It can be our new resolution of the year to improve the planet.