Old furniture does not belong in the waste collection area

Property abandoned by residents costs Espoon Asunnot about EUR 400,000 per year.   

– The costs come from having to recycle furniture left in waste collection areas and belongings abandoned in other premises, says Piritta Ruutikainen, Team Leader for Property Management. 

– The maintenance company transports abandoned property to recycling, and sometimes we have to hire a contractor to retrieve it. Whenever abandoned property needs to be transported to recycling, it costs hundreds of euros. These costs cause rent increases for all residents, as we do not always know who the abandoned property belonged to, Ruutikainen says.

If we know who abandoned the property, they pay the costs of transporting it to recycling.

Full bins attract vermin

Abandoned belongings cause many kinds of inconvenience. For example, furniture abandoned in waste collection areas makes it difficult to empty waste bins.

– The furniture may block access to bins and make them impossibly to empty, maybe until the next time the waste collection truck comes. This makes the waste collection area messy and smelly, which reduces the comfort of living, Ruutikainen says.

Full bins and abandoned furniture attract vermin.

– Rats may also climb the furniture abandoned in waste collection areas and use it to enter waste bins.

Only keep things you use often in shared storage spaces

In addition to waste collection areas, residents abandon property in stairwells, empty storage units, storage room corridors and sheds intended for storing bicycles and outdoor equipment. 

– Storage sheds for bicycles and outdoor equipment are only intended for equipment in active use. If you no longer use your bike or outdoor equipment, you should recycle it yourself or move it to your own storage unit, so that the shed has enough room for bikes and equipment that people use actively. When you move out, you must remove all of your belongings from the storage facilities, Ruutikainen says.

Recycle correctly

Waste collection areas have bins for biowaste, paperboard, glass, paper, metal, mixed waste and plastic. Most buildings also have a bin for waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). 

– If the waste collection area does not have a bin for a certain type of waste, residents must recycle it themselves. You can take large, broken items to a Sortti station and items in good condition to the Reuse Centre. Both will also come and pick up such items for a fee, Ruutikainen says.

Large, broken electrical and electronic equipment, on the other hand, can be taken to the waste collection area if there is a WEEE bin.

– You can leave large household appliances next to the WEEE bin as long as you inform the maintenance company, Ruutikainen says.

Text: Mia Weckström