A newly launched map showing the location of waste disposal points is designed to help people dispose of their rubbish legally and almost always for free. The map includes places to dispose of municipal solid waste, but also tyres, expired medication, batteries, old electronic appliances, large objects such as furniture, and even toxic waste. The map currently features almost 40,000 locations in the whole republic and around 2,400 for the Brno area. The app can also help with directions to the recycling points and shows the opening hours of the facilities. Photo credit: Ukliďme Česko FB.
Czech Rep., Jan 23 (BD) – The creator of the map is Miroslav Kubásek, the man behind Brno-based organization Ukliďme Česko [“Let’s Clean Up the Czech Republic”]. “Five years ago, we started the tradition of volunteer clean-ups and called it Ukliďme Česko. It started a phenomenon, with more than 150,000 people involved in the last year alone. It’s not our goal to clean up after others forever, which is why we developed the app Kam s ním [“Where should it go?”], for those who still don’t know where their waste should go, even in the time of recycling centers and containers everywhere,” Kubásek told ČTK. Another initiative of the organization is mapping illegal fly-tipping sites, which can be reported via the mobile app.
kamsnim.cz.
In 2019, only 39% of municipal waste was sorted. The government’s target is to get to 65% by 2035. “It’s an immensely ambitious goal and our laws have to adapt to it. Waste is a resource, which when recycled can be used again, and thus by recycling we protect the environment and create new jobs in the recycling industry,” said Environment Minister Richard Brabec (ANO).
In December, the government passed several laws regarding waste and waste disposal, which should bring European recycling trends to the Czech Republic and help create a modern circular economy. The most important goal is to increase waste sorting and recycling and decrease the use of landfills, by making it more expensive to use landfills. The fee will rise from CZK 500 to CZK 1850 per ton of waste, and will be completely banned from 2030. The law will also motivate people to recycle by taxing them based on how many kilograms of waste they throw out into the black container.
The total amount of waste in the Czech Republic is 5.782 million tons per year, or 544 kilograms per person. The next cleanup organised by Ukliďme Česko will take place on April 4th, with 205 clean-up locations registered so far. The map is in Czech only, but uses recognizable symbols for the waste disposal points. You can check it out here.
