Home Visit to Iceland The rubbish port

The trash port

Containers for garbage sorting.The trash port was introduced in the town of Höfn some time ago, but today it is operated as a recycling centre where the main goal is to reduce completely recyclable waste from becoming landfill. The current station began operation early in 2008. The main purpose of it is to ensure ways to recycle waste. Be ensuring the residents/business community can contribute to better treatment of nature on the local community, world and better his disposal.                                
What is being recycled today is more or less garbage or waste. Included are hazardous waste, tires, metal, plastic, paper, corrugated paper, smooth paper, glass, separate deposit containers, clothing that is donated to the Red Cross, electronic, utilitarian, agricultural plastic, etc. What cannot be recycled is painted wood, leftover food from homes, baby diapers, etc.

By recycling waste the need for production of various products is reduced, e.g. is cheaper and more environmentally friendly to recycle iron than it is to produce new iron, same can be said of other products. If we preserve that we have today it is more likely that the world can be self-sufficient in the future. Everything that is recycled goes to Reykjavik from where it is sent all over the world where the recycled waste is used either to create the same product again, or similar products such are iron and back iron corrugated paper could be toilet paper.        

Bundles with paper in the garbage port. To some extent everybody recycles something, but about 40 to 60% of the population could be in the category that recycles/reuses not a lot, 20 to 30% could be in the category that recycles/reuses much and 10 to 20% recycle just a little or deposit separate containers. The community is performing well in recycling and companies play a big part in this evolution.  Iceland itself is also at a good level in recycling compared to other nations and we are always improving ourselves.

The sorting centre in the garbage port. The community receives money for recycling; that income covers mostly the expenses incurred for the operation of recycling. The big savings are, however, in the funds which can be saved with recycling. With it, we reduce the landfill costs, transportation costs, and we do not have to use our country for landfill. The community maintains the program and pays the salaries and needs to build up and maintain the facilities to recycle/reuse. This produces both the expenditure and revenue for the project. This also makes substantial work for: contractors, service companies and employees who work in the town’s equipment building. Today we can say that 1-3 peoples jobs revolve around  recycling in the community. The community collects garbage all the way from Öræfi and Hvalnes, the developers also collect garbage in the village Djúpivogur but it is operated by the county of Djúpivogur. The trash that is not recycled is disposed of in the districht Lón.  There it is buried in the earth. This place is located in the old sea comb in Syðri Fjörður, which is well suited by nature to bury trash.

During the year 2009. 2.219.640.- + were disposed of in Syðri fjörður 354.831.-were recycled
During the year 2010.  1.803.551.- + were disposed of Syðri fjörður 412.471.- were recycled.

Written by Karen, Kristey and Þórhildur

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