On World Water Day, experts from the country’s largest water management company “Vilniaus vandenys” provide six tips on how you can keep rivers and seas clean without leaving your home. Although today more often than ever we talk regarding less environmental pollution and nature protection, specialists notice that we often do not even think regarding how we pollute our rivers and the sea simply by washing dishes in the sink or flushing the toilet.
“Everyone can contribute to positive changes. We manage the largest sewage treatment plant in Lithuania, which receives more than 100 thousand cubic meters of sewage every day, and we have noticed that the habits of the population and the chemicals used have changed significantly in the last few years. Although we talk a lot regarding sustainability, we have to state that invisible pollution is increasing. The good news is that we can change the situation by acquiring new habits at home,” says Brigita Gudonė, head of the Quality and Innovation Department of Vilniaus vandenės.
Experts provide several tips that will help us not to pollute our rivers and at the same time develop environmentally friendly habits.
1. Let’s sort fats like other waste
According to the survey conducted by the company “Spinter research” commissioned by “Vilniaus vandenų”, cooking oil and other fats are mostly poured into the sewage – the largest part – 46 percent – admitted to doing this. – those interviewed. In a month, almost 5 tons of fat are mechanically cleaned from wastewater in the country’s largest wastewater treatment plant in the city of Vilnius – approximately as much as an adult elephant or three passenger cars can weigh. Fat clogs city sewage networks, interferes with the cleaning process, and can increase water or soil pollution.
“Small residues of oil or grease can be cleaned with a paper towel and thrown in the trash. We recommend storing a larger amount of fat in a jar or other sealed container and handing it over to waste handlers,” says B. Gudonė.
2. Let’s read the composition of the products and avoid plastic, synthetics
Microplastics are one of the biggest “horrors” of environmentalists, because their amount in wastewater is constantly increasing, and the decomposition process takes hundreds or even thousands of years. These microscopic particles of up to 5 millimeters are widely used in the manufacturing industry and can be found in food and beverage packaging, household cleaning and laundry products, textiles, toys, cosmetics, and toilet paper.
After “Vilniaus vandenys” completes the second stage of the reconstruction of the Vilnius wastewater treatment plant this fall, the wastewater will be treated according to the highest HELCOM standards applied in the Nordic countries. The treatment plant will contain the smallest plastic, fiber and other microparticles in the wastewater (up to the smallest size of 12 microns), thus ensuring the protection of the Neries river ecosystem.
“We might call this age the age of plastic – it is everywhere. World scientists count plastic particles in the ocean in the trillions, microplastics are eaten by the inhabitants of water bodies. For example, if you wash a synthetic T-shirt in a washing machine, almost invisible plastic fibers break off during washing – all of this enters the sewage system,” says B. Gudonė.
3. Sewage is not a garbage can
The water used in the household, i.e. everything that we flush down the toilet or flush into the sewer, must be cleaned by “Vilnius Vandenys” before it is released into nature, so that other water bodies or sources are not contaminated. “After pressing the toilet button, the waste does not disappear anywhere – it travels more than 1.5 thousand. kilometers of Vilnius sewage pipelines. Waste should be thrown where it belongs – in the trash can. If we didn’t have to pull waste from the sewage, we would save huge amounts of time and energy,” says the head of the Quality and Innovation Department of “Vilniaus vandenų”. So let’s be conscious and responsible.
Every third resident of Vilnius throws hair into the sewage system – according to “Vilnius vandenės” calculations, regarding 40 tons of hair are removed from the sewage treatment plant in a month. Cat litter should also go in household waste containers, even if it says on the packaging that the litter dissolves in water. Let’s not throw away paper towels either, because unlike toilet paper, they don’t decompose. This list might be continued, but if we don’t use the toilet and sink as a garbage can, we will protect both nature and the sewage pipeline.
4. Follow food waste etiquette
Food waste also has to go to household waste containers, as these clog city networks – for example, coffee grounds very often clog pipes. The waste sticks to each other and the pipelines are clogged with salad dressings, condiments, mayonnaise. And this is where the city of Vilnius comes to the residents’ aid – the food waste sorting system has been operating since January – special 7-liter garbage collection containers and orange bags for food waste are distributed to residents.
5. Let’s use natural materials in the household
The more chemicals we use, the harder it is to clean them. The bacteria that break down pollutants in sewage treatment plants are severely harmed by the antibacterial cleaners that we use at home.
“These cleaners not only kill the bad bacteria that can be found in our household, but they also kill the good bacteria that remove pollutants from the sewage in the sewage treatment plant. After entering the natural environment, these chemicals also destroy the good bacteria present in it, which are also necessary to maintain the ecosystem of our rivers, including the Neris,” says B. Gudonė.
She advises to protect nature in the household by using more natural products – vinegar, lemon, soda, salt.
6. Let’s return unused medicines to pharmacies
A survey conducted by the company “Spinter research” on behalf of “Vilniaus vandenų” showed that residents do not avoid throwing or pouring unused medicines into the sewers. “Each of us who uses medicine can unwittingly become a polluter. The chemical residues of medicines pollute the water and have a negative effect on the living organisms there, can affect their growth and damage the organs of fish. Medicines must be used responsibly, and expired medicines or their remnants must be delivered to the pharmacy,” reminds B. Gudonė.
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2024-04-03 03:05:41
