Organic waste in the city – a problem hiding in plain sight!
As you walk through our cities, you’ll notice countless brown bins on the sidewalks. “Great,” you might think, “people are actually using their organic waste bins for kitchen scraps.” That would be ideal.
But reality tells a different story.
Take a closer look – or dare to peek inside – and you'll often find those bins are nearly empty.
In fact, a large portion of kitchen waste still ends up in general household waste. 1
Seriously – kitchen scraps make up almost 50% of our residual waste. 2
Why is that a problem?
Because burning kitchen waste that ends up in residual bins takes a huge amount of energy.
Why? Organic waste consists of around 80% water. That’s why it decomposes so quickly – and why wet waste burns very poorly.
Here’s the paradox:
We burn something that we should be using to generate energy – and in doing so, we waste even more energy. A double hit to the environment. 3
“But is this really my problem?”
Good question. Actually, it’s not your problem.
Your problem is something else entirely:
If there wasn’t a problem with how organic waste is handled, your organic bin wouldn’t be empty – and your general waste bin wouldn’t be overflowing.
So what is the actual problem for consumers?
Let’s think about it for a moment. The problem has many faces.
Picture this:
You’re rewarding yourself after a long week with a delicious Saturday dinner:
Asparagus with potatoes, a fresh salad with avocado, and a mango purée for dessert.
You peel the asparagus, the potatoes, the avocado, and the mango – all of which are moist and sticky right after peeling.
Now ask yourself:
Where should all these peelings go?
- Take them straight to the outdoor bin? Sure, maybe once or twice – but then it gets tedious.
- Wrap them in newspaper and leave them in the kitchen until Monday when you're heading out to work anyway? That becomes a soggy, smelly mess.
- Collect them in a bowl or container? By the next day, you’ll be greeted by a sour-smelling bacteria soup.
And how will you clean that bowl? With the same brush you use for your dishes? Definitely not recommended – for health and hygiene reasons. - How about putting it all in a plastic bag to reduce the smell? Better not. Many waste collection services now refuse to empty bins if they contain plastic. 4 Municipalities are increasingly charging substantial fines in such cases. 5 Even so-called bioplastic bags aren’t suitable, as they take too long to break down. Modern biogas plants can’t handle them. 6
Plastics from organic bins end up in our fields as microplastics – where they stay for hundreds of years, eventually leaching into groundwater, lakes, seas – and finally: our food. 7
So, back to throwing it in the general waste?
Many consumers feel stuck.
They don’t know how to separate organic waste in a way that’s efficient, hygienic, and safe for the environment – without spending lots of time or effort.
The solution: The food waste dryer by Island land.
The food waste dryer from Japanese company Shima Corporation (Brand name Island land), distributed exclusively in Germany by Espuente GmbH, offers a practical solution to all these issues.
“We chose to partner with Island land because their devices combine elegant design, high-quality manufacturing, outstanding efficiency, and an excellent price-performance ratio,”
says Espuente GmbH.
This close partnership comes with added benefits – like incorporating feedback from European customers into future product development, and the ability to repair devices or replace individual parts at reasonable costs if anything breaks.
“Circular economy thinking is deeply important to us – not just for the environment.
We believe it’s time to move away from the throwaway society. That also helps our customers save money.
We’ve understood that – and we apply this principle when choosing our partners.”
🎯 Ready for a new way of living?
Get your Shima food waste dryer in our Espuente online shop and bring a new sense of ease and freshness into your home.
1 https://www.nabu.de/umwelt-und-RESOURCES/Abfall-und-recycling/biowaste/biomuell.html
2 https://www.op-online.de/offenbach/biotonne-offenbachhaeufig-unutilized-9641464.html
3 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogasanlage
4 https://www.arag.de/service/infos-und-news/rechtstipps-und-gerichturteile/heim-und-garten/09246/ _
5 https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/auf-der-jagd-nach-dem-plastikmuell-in-der-biotonne,T5y3nuf
6 https://www.duh.de/fileadmin/user_upload/download/Projectinformation/
Circular economy/packaging/180920_DUH_result report_
Composting Survey.pdf
7 https://www.rbbonline.de/Kontraste/ueber_den_tag_hinaus/wirtschaft/oekoirrweg-biotonne.html