Pärnu plans to remove public packaging containers

Pärnu plans to remove public packaging containers from autumn next year because Estonia requires municipalities to collect packaging waste where it is generated, ERR reported. Only public glass containers would remain.

Residents would be able to hand packaging waste directly to waste collectors from their homes, either in a yellow bag or in containers. Pärnu city economy department head Karmo Näkk said the change would make waste collection more convenient and cheaper.

About 25 percent of Pärnu residents already hand over their packaging waste from home, Näkk said. He added that residents would no longer need to drive around the city looking for a container or check whether it was full.

Peep Siim, head of the circular economy department at the Ministry of Climate, said previous studies had shown that people were less motivated to sort and hand over waste when the nearest public container was more than 100 metres from their home.

According to Siim, public containers would continue to be used for glass, while residents must have the option of handing over other waste directly from their homes. The requirement does not prohibit municipalities from installing other public containers.

In densely populated areas, residents must have the option of handing over mixed municipal waste, bio-waste and paper and cardboard packaging, including newspapers, from their homes. Metal, plastic and glass packaging may be collected in public containers. The ministry also recommends considering public containers for other types of waste at retail chains, in addition to glass.

Municipalities will switch to collection from the place where waste is generated gradually, depending on their waste collection contracts, but must complete the transition by 2030 at the latest.