The Biggest Loser recycling competition, which took place in Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt buildings from the beginning of September to the end of November, has concluded. The competition was won by TriviumCity, whose users will be offered cake and coffee at Mauno in TriviumCity in January.
The Biggest Loser competition challenged the buildings to see which one could reduce the share of energy waste from its total waste production the most. The goal was to encourage property users to recycle more and thus reduce the amount of recyclable material ending up in energy waste.
The property that managed to reduce the share of its energy waste the most during the competition was TriviumCity, whose recycling rate rose from last year's 59 percent to 67 percent. The highest recycling rate, however, was in DataCity, where 69 percent of the waste produced was recycled. However, DataCity's recycling rate fell by three percentage points during the competition compared to the year before. In BioCity and PharmaCity, the recycling rate was increased by six percentage points, while in EduCity the increase was two and in ElectroCity one percentage point.
– We were able to nicely increase the recycling rate during the competition, but there is still room for improvement. We also received valuable data on the capacity of waste bins and their emptying intervals, and in several properties, these were changed during the competition, says Henri Tuominen, Property Maintenance Specialist at Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt.
“It is possible to rent recycling bins from Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt, or waste can be collected in any suitable container or box.”
One observation that came up during the competition is that many office premises lack recycling bins entirely, as kitchens typically come with only one or two waste bins as standard equipment. Customers are responsible for purchasing separate recycling furniture themselves.
– It is possible to rent recycling bins from Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt, or waste can be collected in any suitable container or box. The most important thing is that recyclable materials are collected, so that the cleaner can forward them to the property’s waste collection point.
In the future, adding recycling bins to office premises by Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt will also be considered. However, this will only be relevant for new customers, where the rental of the bins can be included in the office rent.
– The amount of waste produced in our properties is so large that even a small percentage increase in the recycling rate means a reduction in the amount of energy waste by thousands of kilograms. Hopefully, the rise in the recycling rate will therefore continue, Tuominen concludes.