Services

Recycling and sorting

Efficient recycling and sorting of waste is part of Aalto University's sustainable development strategy. We strive to reduce waste and reuse raw materials for either new products or energy.

Lajittelu — Photo: Milla Uusitalo / ACRE

A waste hierarchy guides our waste management. In principle, this means we prioritise the way we handle our waste as follows:

We try to avoid generating waste in the first place.
If waste is generated, it should be prepared for reuse.
If reuse is not possible, recycle the waste as material or, as a second choice, as energy.
Waste should go to a landfill only if no benefits can be recovered from it in a technically (or financially) feasible way.

Waste sorting – real estate waste management

Urbaser Oy is our partner for collecting sorted waste from the real estate and transporting it for further processing.

The waste should be sorted according to the following categories:

Leftover food
Coffee filters and teabags
Paper towels and serviettes (table napkins)

Organic waste does not include:

Potable liquids
Sanitary towels (menstrual pads) or nappies (diapers), ash, cigarette stubs
Plastic waste, receipts
Cleaning waste, vacuum cleaner bags

Our collected organic waste is composted by Helsinki Region Environmental Services (HSY) at their eco-industrial centre in Ämmässuo, Espoo (page in Finnish). The end product is used as a topsoil for landscaping or as biomass for generating power and heat.

Recyclable plastics include almost all plastic packages, such as food packaging, detergent bottles, disposable eating utensils (forks, knives, etc.), and plastic bags.

Plastic packaging does not include:

•    Dishwashing brushes
•    Shovels or spades
•    Toothbrushes
•    Ring binders or folders
•    Poly pockets (plastic sleeves for holding documents)
•    CDs, DVDs or computer diskettes

Before disposal, the packages should be rinsed with a small amount of cold water. Do not pack the plastic packages too tightly inside each other.

Our collected plastic packaging is sent via the baling company Suomen Paalauskeskus Oy (page in Finnish) to Fortum’s reprocessing plant in Riihimäki, where the plastic is ground into granules for use as a renewed raw material in the plastics industry. The new products manufactured from the material include sprinkling cans, flowerpots and dish brushes.

Glass jars and containers
Non-returnable glass bottles

Labels and closures (caps, lids, etc.) do not need to be removed [B1] .

Glass waste does not include:

Porcelain
Crystal objects
Mirrors
Window glass
Drinking glasses
Thermal-resistant glass

Our collected glass waste is transported to the terminal of Finnish Packaging Recycling RINKI Ltd, where it is sent on to England as renewable raw material. in the production of glass containers, glass wool, and foam glass.

Tins (metal cans)
Aluminium foil
Metal bottlecaps and lids
Leftover metal scraps (iron, steel or aluminium)
Other metal waste

Metal waste does not include:

Electrical or electronic waste
Batteries (disposable or rechargeable)
Spray cans or other pressurised containers
Fluorescent tubes (including compact fluorescent lamps)
Light bulbs or halogen lamps

Our collected glass waste is transported to the terminal of Finnish Packaging Recycling RINKI Ltd, where it is sent on for preprocessing before going on for industrial use as renewable raw material.

Nowadays, up to 50% of the metal used for new cars is recycled metal!

Disposable coffee cups
Cardboard containers from salad bars

Carton does not mean:

Gift package boxes
Books

Empty food scraps from the containers, rinse with cold water, and let dry. To save space, the containers should be flattened and put inside each other.

Our collected cardboard is sent to Vantaa for baling at Suomen Paalauskeskus Oy:lle (page in Finnish), then sent on to factories to be made into cardboard tubes and raw material for corrugated cardboard.

White office paper
Envelopes
Magazines
Newspapers
Coloured paper
Notebook paper

Paper waste does not include:

Soft, wet or dirty paper, copy paper packaging, charcoal drawings, plastic, charcoal drawings, styrofoam
Oil, acrylic, chalk or pastel paintings/drawings
Kraft paper, cardboard or corrugated cardboard

The paper collected from our sites is sent to Vantaa for baling at Suomen Paalauskeskus Oy (page in Finnish), then to factories to manufacture newspapers or paper towels.

Please note: Sensitive or secret documents should be put in their own bin for data-secure disposal. Shredded paper should be sorted as energy waste as it is unsuitable for paper waste collection.

CDs and DVDs
PVC plastic (when used in plastic pockets, sleeves and binders, for example)
Light bulbs and halogen lamps
Ceramics, porcelain and crystal
Window panes, mirrors
Nappies (diapers) and sanitary towels (menstrual pads)
Leather, rubber

Mixed waste does not include:

Any recyclable waste
Hazardous waste, such as fluorescent lamps

Mixed waste is burned at the Vantaa Energy incineration plant to produce energy.

Mixed waste is the waste that remains at the end after all the waste that can be recycled or has recovery value has been sorted out.

Waste sorting – for users of Aalto spaces

Tenants and other users of Aalto spaces have waste-management responsibilities for the following:

All papers containing confidential or secret information

Paper waste for secure disposal does not mean:

Data storage media, such as memory sticks, DVDs, CDs, hard drives
For disposing of other material containing secret or confidential information (e.g. storage media, workstations,
cell phones), contact the IT Service Desk. If you are moving out of an office, you can order a separate moving container.

Aalto University has a contract with Urbaser for the secure disposal of materials containing confidential data, such as paper, diskettes and hard drives. Suomen Tietoturva Oy is the operator, and their containers read ‘LHJ Group’.

Please note: Certificates of secure destruction of electronic waste are not free of charge.
When setting laptops aside for collection and disposal, you do not need to remove the battery.
Aalto’s partner for disposing of electronics waste is Urbaser Oy. To order collection and disposal of electronic waste, see ‘Waste management service requests’ near the bottom of the page at: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/recycling-and-sorting

Aalto’s partner for collecting and recycling batteries is Paristokierrätys/Recser (https://www.paristokierratys.fi/en).

Aalto IT and Unigrafia organise the recycling of copy machine cartridges for colour printing as well as other waste colour containers.

A box for collecting fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent lamps is located at almost every site around the campus properties.
For details, ask a Lobby Services receptionist or person responsible for the building.
If a collection box is full, contact Tanja Pietikäinen, ([email protected]).

Toner cartridge and waste toner containers recycling instructions you can find below.

Chemical waste
Paints, lacquers, solvents
Aerosols

Hazardous waste does not include:

Batteries (include rechargeable batteries)
Fluorescent lamps
Energy-saving lights
Electrical or electronic waste
Printer toner cartridge, include colour toner cartridges
Medicines (These should be returned to the pharmacy.)

Make sure you always sort your waste and put it in the bin that is specifically designated for it.

Lassila & Tikanoja Oyj is Aalto’s partner for disposal of hazardous wastes, such as paints, aerosols, oils and laboratory chemicals. More information on handling hazardous waste