Washing recyclable waste and using plastic cups use more water; understand

Disposable items are already laundered when they arrive at cooperatives. Disposable cup production comes to consume 500 ml of water.

In times of water scarcity, the need to revise water-saving habits has become a priority. Washing garbage before recycling is one that needs to be reviewed.

You who are used to “splashing” in that box of long life milk or can of condensed milk before discarding, a message: just stop doing it for the rest of your life.

So say experts heard by the G1. Washing items such as yogurt jars, PET or glass bottles to remove food scraps does not help the recycling process and generates more sewage - which is often not collected and treated.

These materials will anyway be washed again when they reach the cooperatives, where the process of separation of paper, plastic, glass and metal, which will later be destined for recycling industries.

“In any recycling process, the waste will be subjected to a sanitation process. There is no need for a thorough washing of the material ”, explains Carlos Silva Filho, CEO of the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (Abrelpe).

The best way to keep recyclable garbage indoors hygienically (without water) until the truck is collected is to store it in sealed containers that prevent flies and odors from emitting, he explains. Emilio Maciel Eigenheer, specialist in solid waste.

One of the products that gained prominence after episodes of water shortage was the disposable cup.

Restaurants and bars, mainly in the city of São Paulo, decided to suspend the use of glass containers by plastic cups.

For those stricken by a lack of dishwasher water, buying may be the solution of the moment. In the long run, it can contribute to further damage to supplies.

The reason? The manufacture of only one disposable cup consumes 500 ml of water, while washing in the sink uses 400 ml, according to the Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology (IFSP) of Itapetininga (SP).

Machine wash is even more economical and only costs 100 ml per cup, ie only 20% of what is spent to produce a plastic cup.

“The population cannot be blamed for this exchange. But the big question is, can't big restaurants and food courts really use more economical machines? ”Recommends Bruno Fernando Gianelli, professor of materials at the federal institute.

Plastic Cup Production Spends More Water Than Washing Glass Cup