Fortunately, more and more people separate the garbage they produce in their day to day, which helps recycling to be carried out in an easier and more efficient way. One of the elements that help this process are the clean points or ecological points, which are nothing more than facilities dedicated precisely to collecting and cataloging waste in order to subsequently manage it in a responsible and environmentally friendly way.
If you want to delve a little deeper into what is a clean point and what is it for Keep reading Ecologist Verde and we will tell you everything you need to know about it to get the most out of them.
What is and how does a clean, green or ecological point work?
A clean spot, or also called a green spot, is a facility dedicated to the collection and cataloging of waste produced by citizens. In this sense, it performs a job similar to the recycling containers that are next to the garbage cans on public roads. But, in the case of clean points, they are much larger facilities that allow manage almost any type of waste, from batteries and cooking oil, to furniture, appliances, technological waste, etc.
The clean points are managed by the City Council of the town in which they are located. In this way, there may be very small cities that have very small clean points and no staff, while in other cities it will be the case of having several clean points distributed throughout their territory, occupying a larger surface and, in In many cases, they have working personnel who will facilitate the deposit of the waste when the citizens bring it.
On the other hand, in addition to fixed clean points, some localities have mobile clean points. These ecological points are, in many cases, a truck with personnel from the closest fixed clean point that travel to different neighborhoods once a week with the aim of facilitating the deposit of waste without the need for the citizen to travel to the fixed clean point. This makes it much easier to dispose of leftover waste, as mobile clean points are moved to neighborhoods further away from fixed ecological points, thus eliminating the need for a transport vehicle to carry some of these waste items and citizens are prevented from discarding them badly.
What can and cannot be thrown in a clean point
As usual, almost any waste can be thrown away at an ecological point or waste produced by the ordinary citizen in their day to day. The big difference with recycling bins is that, in a clean or Green Point, there is also space for larger objects or, simply, objects that are not thrown as often as containers, paper or glass.
Each clean point will be governed by the City Council regulations to which it belongs. However, broadly speaking, it can be said that an ecological point will accept the following types of waste.
Waste that accepts a clean point
- Crystals and glass, same as in green containers.
- Cardboard and paper, same as in the blue containers.
- Containers and plastics, as in the yellow containers.
- Metals and metal objects of a medium volume.
- Wood and objects of this material.
- Used cooking oils, which must be carried in a properly closed container (for example a plastic bottle).
- Motor vehicle oil.
- Automobile batteries.
- Medicines.
- Batteries and batteries, also mobile batteries.
- X-rays.
- Luminaires of all kinds, traditional bulbs, fluorescent, LED, low consumption, etc.
- Paints, both acrylic and synthetic, as well as varnishes, solvents, etc.
- Furniture, from mattresses, chairs, tables, to carpentry such as doors and windows.
- Rubble, as long as it comes from works of a domestic nature.
- Electronic waste, televisions, computers, mobile phones, electric shavers, small appliances, etc.
- Large appliances, from refrigerators to air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, etc.
- Clothes and shoes.
- CDs, DVDs, plastic boxes, printer ink cartridges, office supplies, etc.
- Thermometers and elements that carry mercury.
- Vegetable remains from pruning and clearing.
- Decorative objects, such as mirrors or pictures.
As you can see, in a clean point we will be able to throw away practically any object that we want to get rid of in our day to day. However, there are a series of materials that we will not be able to carry since, by their nature, they need to be treated in a special way to guarantee the necessary safety conditions or, simply, they are not correctly separated.
Waste that does not accept a clean point
- Waste not separated.
- Organic waste
- Tires
- Waste of a radioactive nature.
- Potentially infectious medical waste.
- Toxic waste
- Containers that have contained toxic or potentially dangerous materials, whether due to their infectious, radioactive or any other nature.
What happens to the waste that is deposited in a clean point
Keep in mind that the clean spot it is an intermediate place between the citizen and the final transformation of the waste. This means that no waste will be transformed at the clean or ecological point, either to be recycled or to be destroyed. Clean points are places where the various types of waste are collected and cataloged with the aim of facilitating its recycling or subsequent destruction. This will be carried out through public or private companies hired by the City Council in question, which will take care of collecting the waste and transporting it to the corresponding treatment plant as the case may be and the nature of the waste.
In this way, the efficiency of the waste collection and management services is improved. At the end of the day, the ecological, clean or green point is a place designed so that the ordinary citizen has at their disposal in an easy and comfortable way a way to get rid of all the waste that it generates and that would not fall within the scope of that we could consider "daily garbage".
It is, therefore, an installation designed precisely to facilitate recycling and waste management that, without needing to be treated in an exceptional way, it is true that they cannot be thrown into the rubbish bin like most of the garbage that is produced in a domestic environment.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is a clean point and what is it for?, we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category.
