Mattresses, furniture, toys, wood... Between 2020 and 2023, around 11,000 tonnes of bulky waste were thrown away in Luxembourg. Whilst this volume is falling year on year, with 3,700 tonnes less bulky waste over the last three years, 11% of it could still have been used and 82% could have been collected separately and recovered.
In 2023, around 11,000 tonnes of bulky waste were thrown away by Luxembourgers. This is the lowest amount seen for ten years, whereas a peak of over 18,000 tonnes was reached in 2021, due to the effects of the floods. However, the overall trend is downwards, which the environment administration justifies by “efforts in waste management and increased public awareness.”
Mattresses, wood, plastic and furniture account for almost 64% of bulky items thrown away. Whilst some types of waste are thrown away less than a few years ago, there has been an increase in mattresses, wood and other composite materials.
Over a three-year period dissected by the environment administration, however, it emerges that 11% of the total weight of waste is actually objects, mainly furniture and toys, that could still have been used. Even more strikingly, 82% of the total weight could be recycled through separate collection. This is the case for wood, paper and electronic waste.
In Luxembourg, bulky waste is mainly collected using two systems: the home collection system on request (used by 92% of municipalities) and the voluntary drop-off system at resource centres. For the first system, it should be noted that bulky waste is now subject to a fee in 89 municipalities. Another point to note is that in 2023, it was found that a lot of the waste deposited in bulky waste bins actually had no business being there. This is because certain types of waste are supposed to follow specific treatment channels, such as electrical or electronic waste.
Several solutions have been put in place to recycle this waste once it has been thrown away. Some items can be redirected to secondhand shops in conjunction with recycling centres. Wood can be sorted and sent to wood industry companies or cogeneration plants. The environment administration report also states that since 2015, “bulky waste collected via the collection system is transported to the MVA in Leudelange and burned.” This has a cost. For example, in the area covered by the Syndicat intercommunal pour la gestion des déchets ménagers, encombrants et assimilés en provenance des communes de la région de Grevenmacher, Remich et Echternach, the cost is €200 per tonne of bulky waste. Other players, such as the Lamesch company, offer communes and unions sorting of bulky waste.
To encourage citizens to further reduce the proportion of bulky items, the environment administration is reminding them of the importance of a few preventive gestures, such as buying second-hand items or repairing appliances rather than buying new ones. When buying new items, it recommends that people “give priority to quality and choose durable products that do not need to be replaced frequently. By promoting responsible consumption, these practices not only help to limit waste, but also extend the life of products, reducing the pressure on natural resources and waste management systems.”
This article was originally published in .