Recycling glass & metal
Recovery of metals is a true eco-action. SATO properties have designated collection containers for recycled glass and metal.
Who does the sorting apply to?
Under the waste management regulations of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Kirkkonummi, all residential properties with at least five apartments must have the housing company’s or property’s communal glass and metal collection containers. Smaller residential properties can also join the collection scheme voluntarily. The regulation does not apply to the rest of the country, but it is a recommendable practice elsewhere, too.
How is the sorting arranged in housing companies?
All SATO properties with more than five apartments have designated collection containers for glass and metal. The containers are marked with SATO signage.
What should you put in the glass collection container?
You can put all clear and coloured glass jars and bottles in the glass collection container. Rinse any dirty ones with water. Remove caps and lids. There is no need to remove neck rings or labels. Do not put in the glass collection container any porcelain or ceramics, window glass, mirror glass, heatproof glass (oven dishes, coffee carafes, drinking glasses), wired glass, opal glass (clouded, milky-white glass), crystal or light bulbs. You get money back from shops and Alko for bottles and cans included in the deposit-based return system.
Using metal waste helps to save 75–95% of energy compared with new metal.
What should you put in the metal collection container?
The metal collection container is the right place for all metal packaging and other small metal items, such as food tins, drink cans, aluminium trays and foil, metal lids and caps and metal tealight cups. Other small metal items (hinges, screws, cutlery) also belong to metal collection. Just make sure you rinse food packaging with water to remove any residue.
What classifies as metal?
Never put in the metal collection container any hazardous waste such as accumulators, batteries, paint tubs with paint in them, or electrical appliances such as mobile phones or computing devices.
What happens to the waste?
Glass is melted and reused as material for various glass products. Recycled glass is used to make products such as glass packaging, glass wool insulation and glass bricks. Metals are melted and reused. You brand new forks may have served in their previous life as door handles or sailed the sea as an aluminium boat. Using recycled metal helps to save up to 75–95% of energy compared with the use of new raw material. Recovery of metals is a true eco-action, as metals can be recycled almost endlessly.
How to make waste sorting easier at home
Does sorting feel difficult and unpleasant? Not to worry. Deputy Executive Director Asta Kuosmanen from the Martha Organization provided us with tips on how to sort your waste.
Sorting is smart. Sort out your attitude and your waste gets sorted as well. Sorting helps to save the housing company's money (= your own money) and the environment.
Where should you put the collection containers?
The right size and location of each container depends on your consumption habits. You should think how much of each type of waste your home produces and get containers that are the right size on the basis of that. For example, families with a baby may accrue a lot of babyfood jars, and if you eat a lot of pre-prepared and tinned food, you accumulate a lot of foil containers and tins for metal recycling.
How should I organise the bins under the sink if there is room for four waste containers?
It is ergonomically good to put the waste that you produce the most in the front. In most cases these are mixed waste and biowaste. Put the less frequently used containers at the back: cardboard and cartons (such as milk cartons), metal and glass.
Which waste should go under the sink and which somewhere else – and how?
At least put biowaste and mixed waste under the sink. The location for other waste depends on the space and the amount of waste. It makes things easier to collect newspapers and other paper in paper bags that are suitable for recycling.
How many waste containers should I have and what size should they be?
The size of waste containers depends on your habits. For some a small bin is enough, while a large family needs something bigger. Common sense is the best starting point when planning waste sorting as well. The main thing is to make your everyday life run smoothly.
This article was originally published in Finnish in 2016 and updated and translated into English in 2023.