I Threw it in the Trash

Because this class is a solid waste class, we spent the week wandering around Cagliari looking for trash collection bins. Cagliari currently collects waste every day in public bins located every block or so. The bins are somewhat inconsistent, but nevertheless we love them all the same. That is until they are taken from us in September (settembre) for a curbside collection system. We are having an engineer talk to us about this system upgrade, but the basic idea is to require households to separate their waste before bringing it to the street for curb collection. By making sure waste is properly separated, the city will increase its overall recycling, improve the quality of the waste being recycled, and decrease the amount of waste going to landfills. I will let you know what the engineers have to say after we meet with them but in the meantime below are some basic enhancements this new system could provide.

It is important to consider the quality of the recycled waste. For example, if you have a heap of all the same type of paper to recycle and one piece of plastic gets mixed in, the final product will have a lower purity and will be less desirable for resale. The goal of recycling is to ensure that the recycled goods are able to be reused and a low purity can reduce these chances. Additionally, the separation of waste will allow for less of the recyclable or compostable goods to end up in landfills. This reduction of landfill space prevents landfills from quickly filling up and also promotes good recycling. Way to go, Cagliari!

Here are some of the photos I found of Cagliari's collection system, enjoy!

The first set of bins we found are brown and are used for organic collection, such as food and yard waste...

...But they are also used for paper (not including cardboard)...

....Or for undisclosed materials...

Then we found yellow bins that were also for paper (carta), which was a little confusing.

General conclusion: brown and yellow bins can be for both organics and paper and it depends on the bin in your region that you will use.

There are also blue bins (modeled by our resident model, Ted Stimpson) spread throughout Cagliari. 

The blue bins are typically used for plastics and located next to other bins. I did not see them labeled as anything different.

There were also metal bins. These were the most common and found all over the city so I believe they are for mixed refuse.

On small streets throughout Cagliari you can find a few waste bins per block or so for different waste.

Even the streets with the best views had waste bins.

Bigger streets or streets with more restaurants had a few more bins.

And the main streets had a ton of barrels!

In Cagliari, there is definitely mixed waste in public locations. Some areas have different bins for waste but it is also common to see recyclables, organics, papers and other waste mixed together.

There are vending machine rooms every so often that have the option for separated waste.

(another example)

There are also historic trash bins in the shopping regions. This example is in use by our professor, Annalisa.

And yesterday evening exploring we found waste collection in action! At about 10 pm at night. Typically, collection occurs in the morning and in the late evenings, when people aren't out and about.

Also in Cagliari, there is a surprising amount of litter.

And smoking adds to this litter significantly.

 Finally, this is a different version of waste around Cagliri. You can see a deck here is collapsing into a pile of debris. We asked our resident structural engineer, Ted Stimpson, but are still awaiting an estimate.

Along with this deck however, there was construction and demolition waste that is required to be managed a little differently. Also notice the catch basin for rainwater next to this pile... someone needs to get on that!

Thanks for reading I'll get back to you all soon!