AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.06.2003, Qupperneq 60

Kjartan Valgarðsson, Marketing Director
New Buildings and
Refuse
Attitudes toward refuse have
changed considerably through
recent years. Public bodies have
placed an increasing emphasis
on recycling and waste reduction.
The law on the treatment of
refuse, which strengthens
demands on disposal areas with
the aim of reducing landfill dis-
posal, and the law on recycling
charge, which uses economic
incentives to separate tyres,
motor cars and dangerous sub-
stances from the refuse cycle, are
prime examples such an empha-
sis.
Types of refuse are many and dif-
ferent, and their disposal costs
vary. Companies have to pay a
refuse levy, depending on type of
refuse and weight. In this way, it
does not cost anything to get rid
of cardboard liquid containers
(stipulated in the law on the treat-
ment of refuse), 6,38 lcelandic
krona(ISKR)/kg. to dispose of
general (household) waste, 9,27
ISKR to dispose of „rough
refuse," 2,31 ISKR to dispose of
uncoloured timber and 4,49 ISKR
to dispose of quality paper (prices
are without VAT and valid for the
Capital Area). This price develop-
ment is to increase the difference
between the value for what goes
into a landfill and what can be
recycled or reused. In other
words, it is much more economi-
cal to remove the refuse that can
be reused or recycled. A number
of companies and institutions
have found it economical to use
more containers and increase
refuse classifications. The follow-
ing is a sample of classifications
being used by many companies:
... general refuse
... laminated cardboard
... office paper
... newspapers and magazines
These classifications depend a lot
on the type of activity. Many food
shops classify vegetable and fruit
refuse separately, while building
contractors classify minerals,
metals, clean timber and
coloured timber separately.
These facts make new demands
on the design of buildings and
sites. Until now, it has been
enough to provide several 240 I
bins for general refuse, but these
solutions are no longer enough.
One school had several bins on
its site and then changed them
for a container not intended for
the site. The refuse company
Gámaþjónusta comes up against
these types of challenges almost
daily in providing solutions for its
clients. Other challenges it has
come up against are:
... a large school with one refuse
storage area where it is difficult or
impossible to locate other con-
tainers for refuse separation.
... refuse storage dug into the
ground, making collection diffi-
cult.
... a long distance is from the
parking area to the building.
Often the only solution possible is
to locate refuse containers in the
parking lot.
... no area has been provided for
containers and it appears design-
ers have „forgotten" that refuse
collection was part of building
activities.
in many instances, it is apparent
that selection of the location of
the refuse is a last minute „solu-
tion.“
What should be done?
At the company Gámaþjónusta,
we constantly try to meet the
needs of our customers. We
realise that containers are no
special objects d'art and therefore
it is only natural that owners do
not want them to be prominent.
Therefore, we have painted the
containers in the required
colours. This can be seen at the
north of the Nýherji building,
where the containers blend
well with the environment. More
examples exist where containers
have been painted in the same
colour as the environment.
The best solution would be for
designers to contact us before
buildings are erected. We pos-
sess all the necessary specialist
knowledge in this field. Good
solutions can be pointed out like
making provisions for a few types
containers inside a hedge near
buildings that can be reached by
large vehicles. Points that building
and garden designers should
take into account
are:
... special areas outside buildings
should be prepared near the
building, accessible by large vehi-
cles.
... it is not necessary to enclose
barrels, bins and containers by
buildings. It is enough to con-
struct a light shelter, such as a
timber wall with sturdy sides
... several small containers
should be provided for different
types of refuse.
It is possible with good coopera-
tion and consultation to find
refuse solutions for companies
that facilitate the job of employ-
ees and save money through
good planning. ■
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