Urns with waste flattening technology are planned to be installed in Riga parks / Article

The amount of waste in Riga’s parks has increased. The increase can be explained by the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, because for the last two years, public events and catering establishments worked to a limited extent or not at all, but now it is all available to residents. The representative of “Rīgas meži” company Ieva Bērziņa also reveals other reasons for the increase in waste.

“At the moment, we have gathered information about the first half of the year. Our numbers and facts are that this year there is twice as much waste in gardens, parks and forests. But it should be taken into account that we have a 30% increase in the territory in gardens and parks. In Riga, we manage more territory .”

Almost 800 hectares of gardens and parks are managed by “Riga forests”. Half of them are Mežaparks.

It is not only the amount of waste that has grown, but also the cost of its removal. Management prices in “Riga forests” management parks, gardens and forests are not comparable with last year.

“The downside, of course, is that the waste removal fee is almost twice as much. So we have already spent €80,000 to remove all the waste we have in our forests, parks and gardens. It’s actually the same , as much as last year during the whole year.”

The greater amount of waste has led to think about new technologies in this field. In the near future, the company plans to significantly improve their management in Riga’s parks – so that larger quantities can be taken out less often. Residents could expect news already this year.

“Currently, there is a transition period when we are moving from the old waste bins to the new ones. Perhaps, as early as August, new bins with flattening elements will appear in Riga’s gardens and parks, so more waste can be piled in them and, therefore, waste will be removed less often.”

However, in the long term, there will not be so many new waste bins with the possibility of flattening, because “Rīgas parki” wants to act similarly to other countries in the future.

“There are countries in Europe that greatly reduce the number of bins. Why is that? Because bins attract waste. And our long-term philosophy is to implement the principle in forests, gardens and parks – what you bring in, you also take away.”

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