The new food waste sorting system in Vilnius is already a year old: how much food waste has been collected?

With the new food waste sorting system in place, Vilnius residents have already collected more than 2.8 thousand tonnes of food waste in orange bags in just over a year. To encourage the capital’s residents to keep going, orange bag rolls will continue to be distributed free of charge—experts remind Vilnius residents how many sorting tools a household can collect and where to do it.

‘Periodic waste composition surveys show that for thousands of Vilnius residents, these changes have already become a daily, effortless housekeeping habit. We have noticed that over the year, the capital’s residents have started to sort their food waste more and more. During this period, more than 2.8 thousand tonnes of food waste have been collected in orange bags, thus separating it from the total municipal waste stream,’ says Eglė Bernotavičienė, Head of the Waste Management Subdivision of the Energy Division of the Vilnius City Administration.

Bernotavičienė reminds Vilnius residents that the separation of food waste from the overall household waste stream allows increasing the overall efficiency of waste recycling, saving natural resources, reducing food wastage, and maximising the potential of food waste reuse.

In December 2023, the Waste Etiquette campaign promoting food waste sorting was launched by Vilnius City and the Vilnius County Waste Management Centre (VCWMC). Nearly 1 million orange bags for food waste collection were distributed in total.

How many sorting tools can I take?

From the 1st of February, Vilnius residents can receive five rolls of orange bags free of charge, which are estimated to last for the whole year. Vilnius residents who do not yet sort their household food waste can also collect their food waste container (bucket) free of charge.

The orange sorting bags and collection containers (buckets) can be picked up by any residents of Vilnius (if they have not already done so), whether they have declared their places of residence in the capital or not. Residents will need to state their addresses in Vilnius when they come to collect their sorting tools.