Sorting waste and recycling in Lumo homes

Biowaste includes for example:

• food scraps and spoiled food
• fish waste and peels (of potatoes, carrots, etc.)
• used coffee grounds and tea bags
• flowers and plants
• paper towels and napkins

No: liquids, ash, medicines, cigarette butts, or nappies.

Do this: Drain any liquids from the biowaste into the sink. Pack biowaste in a biodegradable bag or a newspaper.

Please note: Do not pour leftover frying fat or oil in the sink. Use for example old milk cartons and sort it in mixed waste or recycle through Kinkkutemppu. The oil from a small tuna can for example can be absorbed into biowaste.

Did you know? It is particularly important to separate biowaste from mixed waste, because moist biowaste reduces the energy production of waste incineration plants. Sorted biowaste is used for composting and making biogas. The use of biogas reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Plastic collection includes for example:

• food packaging
• detergent packaging
• plastic bags and wraps
• plastic bottles, cans and jars

No: Other plastic products (such as toys and tableware), only plastic packaging. No dirty and hard-to-clean plastic packaging, those are sorted in mixed waste.

Do this: Rinse or wipe the packages as necessary. If the packages don’t smell, they are clean enough. Remove caps and lids and separate different varieties of plastic – this facilitates further processing of the packaging, as different varieties of plastic are utilised in different ways.

Tip: You can tell metal from plastic by squeezing the package. If it stays wrinkled, the material is metal. If not, it's made of plastic.

Metal collection includes for example:

• food cans and beverage cans without deposit
• aluminium foil and tins
• Kettles, pots and pans
• cutlery
• empty paint cans and empty, non-pressurised aerosol cans

No: Grill gas cylinders or aerosol cans that hiss or slosh. They must be sorted as hazardous waste. No large metal waste, take those to waste stations or waste centres (see the closest one on a map).

Tip: You can tell metal from plastic by squeezing the package. If it stays wrinkled, the material is metal. If not, it's made of plastic.

Did you know? Recycled metal is a valuable raw material that can be recycled almost endlessly. Recycled metal is used to make new metal packaging and, for example, shovels, bicycles and car parts.

Hazardous waste includes for example:

• energy-saving bulbs and other fluorescent lights
• batteries, accumulators (remember to cover the terminals with tape)
• medicines, needles and syringes (return to the pharmacy)
• car oils
• wet paints, glues and varnishes
• old New Year tin
• strong acids and alkaline detergents

Please note: Hazardous waste is waste which contains materials or substances that are toxic or harmful to humans or the environment. It is very important that hazardous waste not be sorted into mixed waste or poured down the drain but delivered instead to their respective separate waste collection.

See the closest collection point for hazardous waste

Intact furniture and other items
Utilise flea markets and recycling centres.

Broken furniture and other items
Take unusable items and furniture to a waste station. From time to time, waste skips are also brought to Lumo houses where residents can leave the items they no longer need, free of charge.

See the closest waste station (in Finnish)

Please note: No furniture or other items should be left in the premises of Lumo houses, such as the storage rooms or the waste collection point. For example, when moving, the resident has to take care of bringing unwanted furniture and other items to recycling points.

Did you know? The extra cleaning of waste spaces takes working time away from other maintenance work and causes additional costs for the property and thereby also increases housing costs. You can also order a paid pick-up service to pick up your old furniture.