House calls for garbage collection

A Budapest district has opted for a costlier, but more efficient method of garbage collection. The leaders of the 7th district in Hungary’s capital have decided to banish the recycling bins, which were both an eyesore and an offense to one’s nose, from public areas, and to move them into the condominiums, instead.

According to the innovator, this change is justified by international surveys, which show that recycling banks located on streets and squares reach less than 10% of the local population. The reason why this number is so low is that those people, who intend to collect their garbage selectively, often do not go looking for the containers on the street because of the discomfort this would entail.

According to estimates, 45% of the population could be involved in selective garbage collection if that would take place at the level of condominiums. This higher percentage is not so surprising when we take into consideration that garbage collected selectively is removed free of charge by the Budapest Department of Public Spaces, whereby the dwellers of a condominium could save hundreds of thousands of Forints annually.