Sorting biowaste (biojäte)
All residential properties are required to have a container for biowaste. Residents may also compost their waste. Do not forget to complete a composting notice (in Finnish)!
Biowaste refers to any waste that will decay:
- Leftovers
- Fruit and vegetable peels
- Coffee and tea grounds, paper coffee filters
- Fish bones, other animal bones, eggshells
- Kitchen towels, napkins, greaseproof paper and baking paper
- Flower soil, plant parts
- Kitty litter, waste from cleaning pets’ cages
- NO plastic, glass or metal -> plastic in dry waste, glass and metal in the proper recoverable waste containers of the property or a recoverable waste point
- NO nappies, vacuum cleaner bags or cigarette ends -> in dry waste
- NO liquid cartons -> in cardboard waste container
TIP: Egg cartons are decaying waste and should be placed in your compost or biowaste container.
TIP 2: Pour all liquids from biowaste down the drain because wet biowaste will freeze up in the winter and make emptying the container more difficult.
TIP 3: You can make a biowaste bag out of an old newspaper.
The biowaste container will remain clean if you pack the waste and use a protective bag to line the container. Only bags manufactured from paper or a biodegradable material may be used in biowaste containers.
Approximately one-third of the waste generated by households is biowaste. Sorting biowaste is important because any biowaste that goes into the landfill will decay and generate methane. Methane is one of the most detrimental greenhouse gases. In Jyväskylä, separately collected biowaste is composted and turned into soil at the Mustankorkea Composting Plant (in Finnish).
