Nine tons of improperly disposed trash in Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen’s active group “Active i friluft” (“Active outdoors”) also called on the city’s population to take part in the garbage collection campaign “A trip with meaning” in the city area. As part of the “City Week”, which took place last week, dedicated residents collected a total of almost nine tons of garbage – twice as much as last year.

Since the clean-up last spring, which collected just over four tonnes, 24 kilograms of rubbish have landed on the ground every day in Longyearbyen. For the campaign, four containers were set up in the city. The collected waste was delivered to the waste disposal plant, where it was sorted and categorized.

On the top of the list of different types of waste was combustible waste, which totalled 4.6 tonnes, followed by wood (pallets, etc.) with 3.8 tonnes. In addition, 380 kilograms of concrete and other building materials and 100 kilograms of electronic waste were collected, in addition to waste oil, fuels and heating oil.

In a container near the Lompensenter, even cartridges for a signal gun had been found. Not without danger, because they could have started a fire if they had not been discovered.

Otherwise, everything from Christmas trees to mattresses to dog waste bag were collected by the participants of the campaign.

Since all trash generated in Svalbard cannot be recycled or incinerated, it is transported to the mainland – usually to Sweden, where disposal is cheaper.

Source: Hilde Kristin Røsvik, Svalbardposten