„Preliminary data shows that the quality of food waste sorting with orange bags is better than collecting in separate containers. Other municipal waste – plastic bags, packaging, household utensils, textiles – is often thrown into separate food waste containers along with food waste,“ said Eglė Bernotavičienė, head of the Waste Management Division of Vilnius City Municipality, in a comment provided to BNS.
According to her, since last March, in one of the waste collection and transportation service zones, which includes the Paneriai, Naujininkai, Grigiškės elderships and parts of the Rasos and Vilkpėdė elderships, food waste is collected in food waste sorting containers.
About 7.8 thousand containers are used for food waste collection in this zone, of which 123 are at waste collection sites, the rest are used individually.
In other city zones, orange bags filled with food waste and tied must still be thrown into mixed municipal waste containers.
„Orange bags ensure that food waste is not mixed with other household waste,“ explained E. Bernotavičienė.
According to the municipality representative, since food waste is currently sorted in two ways in Vilnius, comparative data will be analyzed in the future, based on which further decisions regarding the organization of sorted food waste collection could be made.
The new food waste sorting procedure in Vilnius came into effect at the beginning of 2024. A study conducted by the municipality last year showed that 58% of city residents sort food waste.
Recently, there were concerns in the public space that people cannot buy orange sorting bags in all shopping centers, but the municipality reminds that they can be collected for free in all elderships, large waste collection sites, and at the municipality by contacting the VASA service window.
Five rolls of orange bags are allocated annually to one household – according to the municipality, this amount should be enough for the whole year.
All biologically degradable organic waste without packaging can be thrown into orange bags, including coffee grounds, tea leaves and tea bags, parts of houseplants, paper towels, napkins, as well as unpacked food supplements.
The filled bag must be tightly tied and thrown into the food waste container – in Paneriai, Naujininkai, Grigiškės, as well as in the southern Rasos and Vilkpėdė elderships, and if there is none – into the mixed municipal waste container.
It is emphasized that food waste can also be sorted using bags independently purchased in shopping centers – the most important thing is that they are orange and suitable for collecting biological waste.
The orange color of the bags allows mechanical biological treatment facilities to better separate food waste from other municipal waste streams.
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