Recycling in Entropan

As of the June 2023 estimate, 74.8% of municipal waste in Entropan was recycled, composted, or broken down through the process of anaerobic digestion. Recycling standards are uniform across Entropan, with baselines set by the Ministry of the Environment, with local authorities wherein recycling facilities are located responsible for any further standards, with felco rewards from the National Council of Entropan for doing so. Nearly all recycling in Entropan is undertaken by statutory authorities, but commercial and industrial waste is chiefly processed by private companies, with a public option, the Industrial, Commercial Waste Processing Service for companies unable to afford processing costs, at a loaned fee. A baseline target for recycling is set by the National Council, but further targets, as well as some maintenance of recycling facilities, is devolved to the regional authorities of Uryho, Leinto, and Rockrsea.

History

Early Recycling Efforts (1890-1930)

Prior to the Charterist Movement and the Premiership of Emanuel Holm, open and unregulated landfills as well as incinerators were a popular and viable solution to Entropan's waste problem. The only material with enough value to compensate recycling was waste paper. Waste paper collections from households and factories began in Rockrsea in the 1890s, with the practice becoming widespread across Entropan by the 1930s, due to the increased demand caused by the stimulus measures of Prime Minister Emanuel Holm. In addition to the collection and recycling of paper, the stimulus caused a very high level of demand for resources such as metal, paper, and rubber waste. Despite the rise in recycling, these recycling practises faded after the Conservative Party won in 1940 and reversed a lot of the stimulus policies of Holm, with no sustainable market for these resources.

Second Wave of Recycling (1970-present)

The 1970s saw the return of recycling due to an explosion of public concern about the protection of the environment. Similarly to before the Holm premiership, the only major recycled product was paper - with 35% of consumption collected. The 1970s also saw the introduction of community recycling centres in Maledonia and Qeqertarsuatsiaat local councils where the community could voluntarily bring glass, metal and paper.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s many local councils began kerbside recycling collections. Kerbside recycling collections allowed households to separate out recyclables such as paper and glass for processing. During this time extensive education campaigns educated Entropanians about the new practice, which has become commonplace well into the 21st century.

The introduction of container deposit schemes in Entropan during the 1980s and 1990s encouraged community groups to collect aluminium cans, cartons, and plastic bottles for recycling. Newspaper publishers also agreed to pay for paper waste to be collected by councils thus helping to fund kerbside collections. Collection rates for both materials rose to about 75% Entropan-wide, with the amount of waste generated by each person reaching ~1 tonne a year.

In an attempt to encourage recycling, Entropan started imposing higher levies on landfills after 2001. This caused a reduction in landfill waste as the high costs (up to ƒ453 per tonne by 2016) caused a strain on the disposal of waste.

Incentives

Local governments are given incentives towards meeting recycling targets set by national and regional governments by the imposition of financial penalties, and scarcely given prison sentences for failing to recycle. For example, levies are imposed on the proportion of waste material going to landfill under a landfill tax, which currently stands at ƒ841 per tonne, the highest in Terraconserva. The Ministry of the Environment, under the Omnibus Environmental Act 2022, has the authority to, with consul and ultimate decision from competent judges, decide on punishments, including punishments such as prison sentences and community service, for those "with flagrant disregard for sustainability, particularly in regards to renew-ability and recycling", under the select criteria outlined in that act. So far, 121 sentences have been given out under this.

Despite no national programs for the such, deposit-refund schemes are heavily in operation in Entropan. So far, the Leinto and Uryho regional governments have directly set up deposit-refund schemes, with, currently, plastic and glass bottles included, with the Leinto regional government requiring every community centre to have a return scheme in operation. In November 2017, the Ministry of Industrial Strategy announced a subsidy program for innovative new sustainable packaging. One initiative in this is to assess the viability of household food waste being "transformed into environmentally-friendly plastic bags and cups."

The establishment of the government body Programme of Action on Waste has increased the country's recycling capacity. It is a registered charity. It works with businesses, individuals and local governmental authorities to achieve a circular economy through helping them reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient way. PAW was established in 2011 as a company limited by guarantee, and receives resourcing from the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs.

Household Recycling

Unlike most other countries, domestic recycling policy in Entropan is geared towards decreasing pressure on individuals to recycle in their own homes through regulation, public awareness campaigns, simplifying of knowledge about recyclable and non-recyclable waste, and increasing pressure on local authorities, to adopt standards on waste separation, and recycling techniques aimed at allowing for the recycling of a wider range of waste. These include fines for people who don't cut their household waste, with each provincial council applying different rules.

On every product sold in Entropan, there is a requirement to, somewhere on the front of the product, have either a three-chasing-arrows recycling symbol, to indicate that the product is recyclable, or a black bin, indicating that it is non-recyclable.

Recycling is most efficient when items are reused around the home rather than discarded. Other approaches include taking glass items to bottle banks at supermarkets and composting biodegradable waste, making landfill unnecessary.

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of the Environment:

• 74.3% of household waste was recycled in 2022
• There was a 715% increase in household recycling in Entropan between 2000/01 and 2021/22
• 16.7 million tonnes of household waste was generated in 2022, of which ~15.6 million tonnes was recycled, reused or composted.
• In 2022, dry recycling was the largest component of recycled waste, comprising 51% of total waste.

A 2021 survey by ViReg studied the public's concerns and thoughts on recycling in Entropan:

• 96% of all Entropanian adults claim to be worried about the matter, and 98% of the people aged 55 and above, the age range that shows the most concern.
• Despite this, only 77% claim to 'often' take action to reduce plastic pollution, for example by recycling and changing shopping habits to buy alternatives to disposable plastic.

Kerbside Collection

Most household recycling in Entropan is done through a system of kerbside collection bins with different coloured lids to represent different waste streams. All regions use a black lid for landfill, a blue lid for recycling, and a green lid for food and garden organics. In some councils in Northern Uryho, a red lid is used for paper and cardboard recycling, and some southern Leinto councils are currently rolling out a purple lid bin for glass recycling. In 2021/22, 83% of all waste produced in Entropan was recycled or recovered. In 2018–19, 66% of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) was recycled.

Recycling (blue lid)

Recycling in Entropan is managed on a council basis, where each council has their own rules on what can be placed in the recycling bin, with a baseline set by the National Council, which most councils abide by, with some having other products allowed in. Some common examples of items allowed in recycling are:

• Aluminium cans, foil, and trays
• Glass bottles and jars
• Paper, cartons, and cardboard
• Plastic bottles, trays, and containers
• Steel cans and aerosols

Plastics

Plastics accepted in most kerbside collection schemes include: type 1 (PET), type 2 (HDPE), type 3 (PVC), type 5 (PP), type 6 (LDPE), and type 7 (PS)

Plastic name	SPI resin ID code	Example items
Polyethylene terephthalate	1	Water/juice/soda bottles, jars, and bottle caps
High-density polyethylene	2	Shampoo and detergent bottles
Polyvinyl chloride	3	Shoes, aprons, and pipes
Low-density polyethylene	4	Plastic bags, plastic wraps, plastic containers
Polypropylene	5	Yogurt containers, take away containers, disposable cups and plates, and plant pots
Polystyrene	6	Packing peanuts, jewel cases, disposable cutlery

Other plastics (type 7) aren't always recyclable through kerbside collection.

Food and garden organics (green lid)

Similar to recycling, food and garden organic collections are managed on a council basis with weekly, biweekly, or fortnightly collections. Traditionally, these bins would only include green garden waste collections, however beginning in the early 2010s, food waste began being accepted in the bins alongside the renaming of the bins to "food and garden organics". These changes have contributed to an uptake in food and garden organic recycling. Accepted items vary council to council, however a baseline is set by the Ministry of the Environment, and these items are examples of those accepted by Ministry of the Environment regulation, in the food and garden organics bin:

• Lawn clippings, weeds, and leaves
• Sticks and small branches
• Fruits and vegetables
• Meats and fish
• Bread, pasta, and egg shells
• Dairy products
• Compostable bin liners
• Compostable packaging

Upon collection, contents of the bin are taken to a composting site where it is screened for contamination before being turned into soil, potting mix, or mulch.

Hard Waste

Hard waste collections occur in most suburban and regional councils and is designed to collect waste that is too large for a kerbside collection bin or for items that aren't accepted in any of the standard waste collections. Fixed hard waste collections happen twice a year, typically during late spring, summer, or early autumn. Some councils use a ticketed approach where the resident has two collections per year that they can redeem at any time. Items collected during a hard waste collection may be disposed, recycled, or reused depending on the condition, with the overwhelming majority being recycled. Items typically accepted include:

Waste stream	Example items	Disposal method	Notes
Green waste	Sticks, tree branches, logs	Recycled	Councils typically ask for bundled green waste
Scrap metal	Metal drums, car parts, white goods, hot water units	Recycled	Sometimes reused if in good condition
Hard waste	Clothes, pottery, broken mirrors and glass, carpet, furniture	Typically recycled
Electronics	Any item with a plug or a cord (TVs, computers, printers)	Recycled
Mattresses	Mattresses	Typically recycled

As hard waste is placed on a residents nature strip, members of the public are able to access and take items for their own reuse and repurpose. This removes the need for recycling or disposal, and gives the item a longer use life.

Commercial and industrial recycling

In Entropan, commercial and industrial (also large apartments buildings) recycling is collected primarily by private waste management contractors, but the public option, the Industrial, Commercial, Waste Processing Service, is available to both set a baseline standard in waste management services and to provide for businesses that cannot afford waste processing. Excluding hazardous waste, it isn't compulsory to sort waste into different streams for private waste management, however, it is more cost effective to recycle due to high fees associated with garbage collection, with general waste often costing up to ten times as much as recycling.

Almost 33 million tones of C&I waste is generated each year in Entropan, with 76% (over 25 million tonnes) recycled. Detailed breakdowns of C&I recycling are not recently available, but they cover similar types of materials as household recycling, as shown below.

Summary the C&l waste/recycling streams by material (for industries studied)

Material type	Landfilled ('000 tonnes)	Recycled/recovered ('000 tonnes)	Total waste generation ('000 tonnes)	Recycling rate (%)
Cardboard	118	2 334	2 452	95%
Steel	89	882	970	90%
Office paper	94	1 004	1 098	91%
Unknown	536	1 096	2 133	65%
Food organics	403	1 716	2 119	81%
Other paper	64	482	546	86%
Timber	398	2 178	2 696	81%
Masonry materials	139	324	463	69%
Other organics	439	216	656	33%
Other glass	31	112	142	79%
Aluminium	21	90	111	81%
Other plastics	176	268	444	60%
Packaging glass	12	64	76	84%
Plastic packaging	13	141	154	92%
Leather & textiles	27	107	134	80%
Tyres/rubber	40	13	53	25%
Other metals	<1	<1	<1	88%
Garden organics	54	-	54	0%
Total	2 642	11 028	13 670	81%