“The ZRD uses a crane to remove waste that does not belong there,” says Cees Hoogerland of the municipality of Middelburg. In the meantime, the crane operator smoothly navigates the grab through the waste mountain and fishes out the black bags. PMD waste may only be delivered in transparent bags so that you can see what is inside.
“Let me first say that the majority of residents in Middelburg are doing well with PMD waste,” Hoogerland emphasizes. “It is a small group that does not know what is and is not allowed or who simply refuse to separate waste and throw everything in with PMD waste. We have to try to reach them.”
The ZRD will only clean up the PMD waste this year. “We see that Middelburg is having difficulty tackling the PMD waste problem, which is why we are offering a helping hand,” says ZRD director Paul Marinissen. “We remove about 20 percent of contaminated waste. Middelburg pays the costs, but they have to look for a solution. Because we are only doing this this year.”
“Sorting is done with a crane, because it is not allowed to be done by hand,” says Marinissen. “We are not allowed to walk among the household waste and remove the wrong waste by hand. But our crane operator is handy enough. It takes him about an hour and a half to clean a load of PMD waste.”
According to Marinissen, the key to cleaner PMD waste is to collect it from door to door and to work with underground containers as little as possible. “Anonymous containers, above or below ground, are the cause of pollution. It is very difficult to control.”
