Many residents have questions about waste and resources policy, waste separation and waste charges. This is understandable. That is why you will find answers to frequently asked questions about the environmental pass here.

Do you have another question? Ask us your question. We will do our best to answer your question to the best of our ability. And you help complete this list of frequently asked questions right away.

Many residents have questions about waste and resources policy, waste separation and waste charges. This is understandable. That is why you will find answers to frequently asked questions about bulky household waste here.

Do you have another question? Ask us your question. We will do our best to answer your question to the best of our ability. And you help complete this list of frequently asked questions right away.

Many residents have questions about waste and raw materials policy, waste separation and waste charges. This is understandable. That is why you will find answers to frequently asked questions on supervision and enforcement here.

Do you have another question? Ask us your question. We will do our best to answer your question to the best of our ability. And you help complete this list of frequently asked questions right away.

Many residents have questions about waste and resources policy, waste separation and waste charges. This is understandable. That is why you will find answers to frequently asked questions about:

• Waste and resources policy
• Waste charges and recycling rate
• Separating waste
• Baby nappies and medical waste
• Containers
• Environment pass
• Bulky household waste
• Monitoring and enforcement
• Litter pass

Do you have another question? Ask us your question. We will do our best to answer your question to the best of our ability. And you help complete this list of frequently asked questions right away.

Many residents have questions about waste and resources policy, waste separation and waste charges. This is understandable. That is why you will find answers to frequently asked questions about bulky household waste here.

Do you have another question? Ask us your question. We will do our best to answer your question to the best of our ability. And you help complete this list of frequently asked questions right away.

Awareness and behavioural change are the key words to reduce the flow of residual waste. Our colleagues can be found in the area every day and will be happy to help you with questions and advice. 

Our Education Team

Environmental coach Nelleke

Our Environmental coach Nelleke is out and about every day. You can meet her everywhere: on the street, at meetings and events. She gathers ideas, gives tips on how to reduce residual waste and separate raw materials even better and thinks along with you. Environmental coach Nelleke: 'Separating waste makes sense! All kinds of new products are made from separated waste. Reuse and recycling saves raw materials, saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions.'   

So don't know something or in doubt? Don't hesitate and ask your question online or when you meet Nelleke! 

Put your question to our environmental coach Nelleke

Education officer: raising awareness and changing behaviour among young people

Learned young is done old! Our education officer teaches at Waste Free Schools in the region about resource separation. There are also discussions with managements about reducing residual waste. Raising awareness among young people is an important step towards
a waste-free future. Secondary schools can also get tips, advice, and possibly guest lessons and tours from our education officer.

Contact our education officer

Education programmes and initiatives 

Waste-free schools

We have offered the 'Waste-Free Schools' programme since 2014. This programme teaches pupils that waste consists of valuable resources and gives them the knowledge to deal with it properly. 

More and more schools want to make students aware that waste contains valuable resources, such as paper, plastic, food scraps and more. Sustainability is therefore increasingly high on the agenda. A good development. Especially since there should be no more residual waste in the Netherlands by 2050 and raw materials are constantly being reused. Fortunately, more and more pupils take a sustainable mug and lunch box with them. This saves mountains of disposable packets, sandwich bags and aluminium foil. Separate waste collection at school is obvious, but proves difficult in practice. That is where the "Waste-Free Schools" project can help. 

But what exactly is a waste-free school? A waste-free school is a school that goes for less waste. The waste that does eventually arise is properly separated. This means that the school has less and less residual waste Kortom, waste separation and waste prevention. In exchange for their efforts, schools do not have to pay for the separated waste collected by Waardlanden. 

Some 80% of all regional schools in our region are now waste-free. When parents and carers see how enthusiastic their children are about separating waste and the importance of recycling, they are encouraged to take steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle at home too. Thus, the initiative at school becomes not only a learning moment for children, but also an opportunity to reach whole families and work together towards a circular future. 

Become a Waste Free School too? Get in touch with us!

Practical support

Waardlanden offers educational and convenient support to All Waste-Free Schools. We do this through education, making materials available, organising field trips, providing assistance with teaching programmes and by allocate see at waste separation.  

Environmental education in schools 

Together with Gorinchem Nature Centre (NCG) we provide environmental education at schools in the municipalities of Gorinchem, Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Molenlanden. In Vijfheerenlanden we do so in cooperation with The Green Meadow.

Teaching kits

To unburden primary schools as much as possible, Nature Centre Gorinchem and De Groene Weelde have developed ready-made teaching kits to work with in the classroom. Waste-free schools can book these free of charge. A teaching box contains detailed lessons and materials around a theme. Giving your own lesson is thus very easy.

• Questions about Nature Centre Gorinchem's teaching kits?
  Mail to educatie@natuurcentrumgorinchem.nl or call 0183-630911 on weekdays between 9am and 5pm.
• Questions about De Groene Weelde's teaching kits?
  Mail to info@groeneweeldevhl.nl  

Guest lectures and excursions 

Teaching about the circular economy is one thing, but seeing and experiencing it is two! Some lessons we can also teach at school or in the neighbourhood.

Guest lesson 'Separating waste'

During this lesson, we discuss the different resource flows with the students. Themes will be discussed: buying less, the cycle, repairing, the environmental street, the danger of litter and why separating waste is so important. What belongs in which bin and what can we make with properly separated raw materials? We end the lesson with a fun quiz and hand out up-to-date separation guides. After the lesson, pupils will know all about reducing and properly separating waste and will be able to separate school waste correctly. Because a lot is changing in the world of waste, the lessons are not only interesting for pupils, but teachers also learn a lot.

Practical information: 

• The lesson lasts 25 minutes per class. 
• Groups 1 to 8 may all be scheduled on one day. The education officer then visits one class in turn. 

Excursion: educational trail Ecopark 

During this lesson, we will give the group a tour of the Ecopark in Groot-Ammers. The pupils take a look at workshop De Gezel, and 2nd chance building materials. This is followed by an interactive lesson in the education room of the Ecopark, where assignments are made in small groups about waste and valuable resources. Themes covered include textiles, smartphones, electronic devices, batteries and litter. Activities such as 'electronic devices bingo' and 'litter on the clothesline' make the lessons interactive. Pupils thus playfully discover how long nature takes to break down different types of waste. Finally, themes such as sustainability and consumerism are discussed with the group. Partner De Gezel made the furniture for the education room from discarded materials, such as bar stools from old bicycle tyres and tables from old wood. The tour and lesson lasts a total of 1.5 to 2 hours and is free for Waste Free Schools. 

Practical information: 

• The tour and lesson last 1.5 to 2 hours and are free for Waste Free Schools. 
• The tour is suitable for both primary and secondary schools. 

Engineering classes

To introduce primary school pupils to engineering, handicrafts and professions in the circular economy, we offer in cooperation with De Gezel, and SitY Academy on-site classes. During these lessons, students will be prepared for the circular economy of the future, with repair at its core. 

Want to know more about our guest lectures and excursions? Then get in touch with us!

Schools in action against litter

Clean-ups are fun to do. You get busy and keep our environment clean and beautiful at the same time. We are therefore happy to help schools that want to organise clean-up actions with the necessary equipment and tips. We supply: 

• Safety vests 

• Rubbish bags 

• Prickers 

• Gloves 

Afterwards, we will come by with one of our collection trucks and dispose of the bags of litter.  

Litter picking at school? Get in touch with us!

Waardlanden handles waste and raw materials collection for the municipalities of Gorinchem, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Molenlanden and Vijfheerenlanden.

As a resident, you can offer your waste and raw materials in a container at home or in a collection container in the neighbourhood, at one of the environmental centres or have it collected. You may still be able to get broken, discarded and reusable products repaired at a repair shop or bring to the Circle Square or a thrift shop. They then get a second life and do not become waste. In this way, together we ensure that waste and raw materials are reused as much as possible. This is good for the environment and your wallet.

Offering waste and raw materials

Containers for household waste and raw materials

We collect your vegetable, fruit and garden waste and food waste (VGF), plastic packaging, metal packaging (cans) and drink cartons (pmd), glass, paper, textiles and residual waste using containers. How you can dispose of your waste and raw materials depends on where you live.

> Find out how to offer your waste and raw materials

Waste recycling points for other waste and raw materials

All other waste streams can be offered at one of the environmental centres.

Have waste and raw materials collected

You can have your bulky household waste, metal, waste electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste) and bulky garden and pruning waste collected.

> Make a collection appointment for bulky waste

Do you ever doubt which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide on this page will help!

Residents of flats, upstairs flats and houses without three types of resource containers have been allowed to dispose of plastic packaging, metal packaging and drink cartons (pmd) in a neighbourhood residual waste collection container since the introduction of the environmental card. This waste is collected separately and later sorted by machines. As a result, we can recycle more and need to incinerate less residual waste. Residents of low-rise houses with a pmd container do separate pmd at home.

Always the separation guide at hand

With the handy Waardlanden app, you always have the separation guide to hand. You can download the Waardlanden app onto your smartphone yourself. This way you will always have all information on waste and raw materials to hand. You will also find your personal waste calendar in the app. And you can quickly and easily file reports, make a bulky waste appointment and order bags. Download the app here!

Do you prefer a paper separation guide?

You can view, download and possibly print the waste separation guide. You can hang it up in a handy place at home. That way you can quickly see what belongs where. 

• Download the handy waste separation guide in Dutch
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in Arabic
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in English
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in Ukrainian
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in Polish
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in Romanian
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in Spanish
• Download the handy waste sorting guide in Turkish

Everything in the right container. For the reuse of materials as raw materials, it is important that no contamination is added. Then the quality of the material remains as good as possible and it can be recycled. For this reason, many materials are collected separately, separated from residual waste. The main rule for separation at home is: clean and/or dry.

• Only vegetable, fruit and other food waste and garden waste may be put in the GFT container.
• Only glass bottles and jars are allowed in the glass container (packaging glass).
• Only clean and dry paper and cardboard may be put in the paper container.
• Only (empty) plastic and metal (cans) packaging and beverage cartons are allowed in the pmd.
• Only textiles are allowed in the textile container.

This sounds logical, but a lot of contamination is still found in the containers for these material streams. Plastic in the waste paper or GFT, for example, is very bad for the environment. By separating neatly, the sorting and recycling process runs efficiently. Little pollution then needs to be removed from the material stream before the material can be used again as a secondary raw material in a production process. And sorting costs remain limited, so separate collection also remains financially worthwhile. Because VGF, PMD and paper contaminated with, for instance, plastic or residual waste cannot be recycled for reuse. As a resident, you then pay for processing as waste but do not get any yield from the raw materials. Those who do not separate or separate badly are therefore driving up costs for themselves and their neighbours.

By separating waste properly and cleanly, we together - residents, municipalities and Waardlanden - keep waste processing costs manageable. And we work together towards a beautiful, valuable living environment.