HOUSEHOLD WASTE

 Sorting and processing

In the City of Riga such household waste as paper, glass, metal, plastic which can be recycled and processed, is sorted, taking into account the demand of processing companies and possibilities for realisation.

The following companies participate in the collection of paper in Riga: Hoetika - ATU Ltd., Nehlsen - Riga Ltd., Riork Ltd. and Alen Ltd. The paper collected and sorted is pressed in bales and then taken out for realisation outside the borders of Latvia.

From the total amount of household waste approximately 5.8% of the recycled raw materials are sorted off.

In the second half of 2000 the collection of the used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging was started in the City of Riga. The collected and pressed used PET packing  is taken outside the borders of Latvia, because currently there are no processing possibilities for it in Latvia.

In 2000 the "Green Point of Latvia" started to function. Experts from the Waste Management Division of the Department of Environment, Riga City Council, are co-operating with the "Green Point of Latvia" and Latvian Packaging Association in order to develop collection of the used packaging in the Riga City.

Read all...

 DISPOSAL

The City of Riga has one landfill for the disposal of household waste in Getlini , which is located 15 km from Riga .  36 hectares are used for waste disposal, the rest of the area is the economic area with a registration building, administrative building, cloak-rooms and engineering workshops, waste sorting and composting areas, as well as a free territory, which is envisaged for the establishment of a new landfill. Today about 300-400 trucks enter the landfill and take in approximately 1280 tons of waste.

Sorting of waste is also carried out in Getlini in the result of which recycled raw materials are obtained. Thus, for instance, in 2000 the total amount of household waste constituted 1,017,833 m³, i.e., ~ 223,934 tons. The total amount of the sorted household waste was ~ 12,706 tons.