Together towards a more sustainable everyday life 

Housing, Kylä magazine, News / 8.11.2024

Text: Anni Pajari | Pictures: Tiitu Design

Theodore Veistos moved to the Kortepohja Student Village as a new resident last spring. While walking around the village, he noticed abandoned items, trash, and furniture left in the hallways and other common areas of the buildings. Around the same time, a “Sustainable Village” event focused on circular economy and sustainable living was held at Rentukka Square. The event included a workshop aimed at collectively brainstorming solutions to the recycling challenges faced in the student village.

Soihtu regularly collects monthly feedback from residents on various housing-related topics, such as cleanliness and the comfort of shared spaces. Year after year, mailrooms overflowing with free publications, along with trash and furniture left in hallways, have been recurring issues. The problem affects everyone, as improperly disposed items and waste also create extra work for maintenance and cleaning staff.

Theodore, who happened to attend the Sustainable Village event, thought the issue of unwanted items could be easily solved by designating a clear area for broken furniture and another for usable, intact items.

“I didn’t know about the collection point behind the MNOP buildings at the time, and from what I gathered, many other residents didn’t either.”

Behind the MNOP buildings, there is indeed a mixed-waste dumpster for broken furniture and a separate e-waste container for electronic and electrical waste. This area has recently been made more user-friendly by creating designated spots next to the containers where residents can leave e-waste or furniture, which maintenance staff then sorts into the correct containers. The containers are closed to prevent e-waste from accidentally ending up in the mixed-waste dumpster.

Typically, disposing of broken furniture at a landfill incurs a fee and generally requires a car, which students don’t always have.

“This type of recycling dumpster isn’t mandatory and, to our knowledge, isn’t even a very common practice, but we wanted to offer it to residents to facilitate recycling,” explains Chief Real Estate Officer of Soihtu, Kimmo Moilanen.

The Return of “Kierukka”

The idea of a recycling room is not new; a shared space named “Kierukka” previously served as a recycling area in several different buildings in the village.

“The last location was in the basement of the D building, but it lacked regular supervision and gradually turned into a dumping ground for broken items and other waste. Eventually, the fire inspector intervened, and we had to empty out Kierukka,” recalls Kimmo Moilanen.

However, residents frequently expressed a desire for a space where they could exchange usable, intact items with each other. To avoid repeating past mistakes, it was decided that the space would reopen only if a volunteer from the village could oversee and check its condition regularly.

Theodore took on this responsibility, creating a Telegram group where residents can post items they no longer need or seek things they’re interested in obtaining secondhand. Additionally, an agreement was made with the maintenance company to manage the room’s clearance procedures, preventing excess accumulation of items. The residents’ committee created rules for the room, defining what could and could not be brought into the space.

“The plan is also to highlight items placed in the room through the Telegram group so residents can see what’s available and be encouraged to make use of the space,” Theodore explains.

Student housing is generally short-term, making it convenient for residents to avoid purchasing everything new, and to easily dispose of items when moving after graduation. Theodore believes that intact furniture and kitchenware, in particular, will be popular among residents.

The village also has a long tradition of shared items. Not everything needs to be personally owned; infrequently needed items like tools or carpet cleaners can be shared among residents. In September, Kortepohja saw the installation of Jyväskylä’s first loan item vending machine, from which anyone can conveniently borrow communal items via the Lainappi app.

Theodore has observed that residents come from a range of backgrounds and have varying attitudes and habits toward recycling. Some residents are from outside Finland, where practices may differ significantly, while others are moving out on their own for the first time and are just beginning to form their own routines.

“In a brand-new living environment, it can actually be easier to adopt new habits. Once recycling becomes a routine, it soon feels second nature,” he reflects.

Tenant Participation Needed

Soihtu strives to make recycling as easy as possible for tenants, both in practice and in communication. Recycling instructions and the locations of waste disposal points are available on the website. New tenants receive a paper recycling guide in their welcome packet, and furnished apartments, primarily occupied by exchange students, are equipped with recycling instructions as standard. For international students and their tutors, an orientation session at the beginning of each semester includes information about life in the village and recycling. Additionally, recycling campaigns are sometimes run on social media and information screens, like the one last spring.

Beyond the principles of sustainable development, recycling also has significant financial implications. In 2023, waste management costs for the student village totaled 147,000 euros. Divided among tenants, this amounts to approximately 73.5 euros per person, or about six euros per month for waste management included in rent. Reducing waste management costs is, therefore, one way to help control rent increases.

General cost increases are a reality, but residents can also impact waste expenses in two simple ways. The first is, naturally, thorough recycling; well-sorted waste is always cheaper. For instance, paper incurs no processing fees.

“If, however, the paper waste includes cardboard or organic waste, the entire load has to be treated as mixed waste, which incurs a mixed-waste fee,” explains Antti Anhava, logistics manager at Mustankorkea.

This, of course, also negates the careful sorting efforts of other tenants. In the worst-case scenario, improperly sorted waste can pose risks to garbage truck drivers or further processors. According to Antti Anhava, there are situations every year where hazardous waste ends up in the mixed waste and causes fires in garbage trucks.

“Glass and metal are generally the easiest to sort, while there seem to be more challenges with plastic and organic waste,” he notes.

It’s also costly when waste is left outside designated collection points. Waste management at Soihtu properties is handled through centralized waste collection points, most of which feature underground deep collection containers. The collection points are emptied weekly, some even more frequently. The filling levels of the points are monitored regularly, and the emptying cycle is adjusted as needed.

A common scenario, however, is that one mixed-waste container becomes full, and trash starts piling up around it, even though there’s still space in containers slightly further away. If a garbage truck driver has to manually move misplaced waste, it results in an additional charge. Ensuring that waste containers are evenly filled is another simple way residents can contribute to keeping waste management costs in check.

Soihtu’s recycling points receive praise from Antti.

“Deep collection containers are the most sensible solution for a residential property with many inhabitants. The signs are clear and bilingual, and the waste collection points are tidy and visually appealing.”

Central Finland Leading the Way in Recycling

In the bigger picture, the goal of recycling is to ensure materials can be reused and further processed. General waste from Jyväskylä is delivered to Tampere, where it’s incinerated to generate electricity and heat. Other waste types are processed across Central Finland before being sent for further processing. For example, organic waste remains in Central Finland, where it’s converted into fuel at Mustankorkea, while the solid part is composted to produce soil.

Regional differences may partly explain habits related to sorting. Organic waste sorting became mandatory in Jyväskylä in the late 1990s. A new waste law requires that, by July 1, 2024, every residential property must have an emptyable organic waste container, a composter, or a shared collection system with neighbors. Helsinki was the last to join, making organic waste sorting mandatory there only this year.

“If the student village has almost 2,000 residents, it’s comparable to a small municipality. The recycling habits of residents truly make a difference,” reflects Antti Anhava.

Many of Soihtu’s apartments are studios, so sorting various materials in a small kitchen may require creativity. Plastic recycling began in 2021, and many who have recycled plastic have since noticed a significant decrease in the amount of mixed waste.

Antti Anhava suggests that recycling can even start during grocery shopping.

“For example, a cardboard can of crushed tomatoes is much easier to dispose of than a metal one. Sometimes, you can choose a material for the same product that takes up less space, making recycling more manageable.”