All SSN's student accommodation has recycling stations for waste sorting, and here you can find out what goes where ♻️
Look for the sorting mark
The easiest way to find out where to sort your waste is to look for the sorting mark on the packaging. At sortere.no you'll find a good overview of what the different symbols mean. You can also type in almost anything and find out where it should be sorted!
Check out sortere.noYour trash - others treasure?
If you're thinking of throwing something away because it no longer suits you, you have two of the same kind or you want to get rid of something that works for other reasons:
Check if there's a swap shelf or swap room in your student accommodation! There, your things can get a new lease of life if they are picked up by someone else. ⭐️
🗑 This is Paper waste:
Newspapers, brochures, envelopes, advertisements, magazines, paperbacks.
Cardboard boxes, wadding cores.
Milk and juice cartons, you do not need to remove the corks or labels from the cartons - just rinse and fold them.
Paper bread bags, pizza boxes, dishwasher and detergent boxes.
Beverage cartons and cardboard are folded to take up as little space as possible and placed loosely in the cardboard/paper bin. Remember to sort the plastic bag separately if you have transported the paper waste in a bag.
Do not sort this as paper:
Paper with food scraps, wet paper, plastic and paper bread bag, baking paper, food paper.
🍕Eaten takeaway pizza? Remember to remove pizza leftovers (sort as food waste) and the small plastic thingy (residual waste) before throwing the box in the paper bin. If there is a lot of leftover food, you should instead throw the pizza box in the residual waste.
🫙 This is glass and metal packaging:
Glass (jams, pasta sauces, baby food, etc.).
Glass bottles without deposit (juice, soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits bottles).
Soft drinks and beer cans without deposit.
Tin cans.
Aluminium foil.
Foil moulds (such as from fish gratin and the like).
Tubes (caviar, mayonnaise).
Metal lids and corks.
Spray cans (cream, mould grease).
Rinse the glass and metal packaging clean with cold water. It does not matter if a thin layer of grease remains. Labels may be on. Use common sense: If it is difficult to empty the glass and metal packaging of residues, dispose of it in the residual waste.
Glass and metal are disposed of directly in the container for glass and metal, remember to sort the plastic bag separately if you have transported cans/glass in a bag.
Do not throw this in the glass and metal bin:
Wine glasses, crystal, porcelain, ceramics, refractory moulds, window panes, light bulbs.
A good rule of thumb is that it is only glass or metal packaging from food and drink that should be sorted in the bin for glass and metal.
Light bulbs/fluorescent tubes may contain mercury and are considered hazardous waste. They should therefore not be disposed as regular waste.
Have a box or container and collect used light bulbs/fluorescent tubes.
Take the bulbs with you to the store when you go shopping and hand them in there (often near the deposit station for bottles), or take them to the recycling centre.
Used coffee capsules are often made of aluminium or plastic and can be sorted at source as metal or plastic packaging at home. However, you must empty the capsules of residues first, and we don't expect you to do that. Do this if you have the energy to do so, otherwise throw the capsules in the residual waste.
🧴This is plastic packaging:
Plastic packaging that has contained food, drink or other household goods.
Potato chip bags, baking mix bags, coffee bags and the like that are made entirely of plastic. Bags that are composed of different materials are disposed of in the residual waste. This applies, for example, to plastic packaging with aluminium foil on the inside and bags made of paper and plastic.
Plastic film.
Jugs/bags for windscreen washer fluid. NB! The bag must be completely empty before sorting. If there are residues in the bag, it must be delivered as hazardous waste.
Shampoo bottles, detergent bottles, etc.
Rinse the plastic packaging clean with cold water. It does not matter if there is a thin layer of grease left. Labels may be on. Use common sense: If it is difficult to get the plastic packaging clean, throw it in the residual waste.
Place plastic packaging in a tightly tied plastic bag and dispose of it in the plastic bin.
Tips for reusing plastic multiple times and using less plastic
Put a plastic bag in your pocket, by the door, in your bag or backpack, so you'll always have a bag on the go. Or use shopping nets!
Use small cotton bags when buying fruit and veg in bulk.
Replace plastic wrap with reusable products such as silicone lids and beeswax.
Check out the possibility of buying refills for shampoo and soap, or try out shampoo bars and soap bars, where the plastic is completely absent!
Use empty iceboxes or take-away boxes to sort your clutter drawer, store leftovers or collect used batteries.
🦐 This is food waste:
Prawn shells, fruit scraps and stones, vegetable peelings, small meat bones, fat and cooking oil.
Coffee grounds, coffee filters and tea bags.
Paper towels and napkins with food spills. Large amounts of napkins, such as after a birthday celebration, should be disposed of in the residual waste. It is not favourable to have a lot of clean paper in the food waste.
If you have leftover food, you should first and foremost look for a way to eat it! Matvett has a Use-up encyclopedia where you can find recipes that include all kinds of leftovers.
Use bio bags, don't overfill them and tie them tightly
Only BIO waste bags can be used for food waste (ordinary plastic bags are made of non-degradable material). Remember not to fill the bag too full, so that you can tie it tightly and thus avoid residues in the waste container. Stray food waste is a feast for birds, rats and mice.
Empty your food waste every day to avoid unpleasant odours in the kitchen.
Do not throw this in the food waste bin:
Snuff, potted plants, packaged food, soil, chewing gum, ice-cream sticks.
🚮 This is residual waste:
Vacuum cleaner bags.
Straws.
Q-tips.
Hair.
Chewing gum.
Snuff, snips.
Soiled packaging.
Mixed packaging that cannot be separated (e.g. some potato chip bags).
Residual waste is what remains when all other waste has been sorted. Residual waste must be disposed of in tied bags in the bin for residual waste. Anything that is too large to be disposed of in the residual waste bag should be taken to a recycling centre.
This is not residual waste:
Batteries, paint, small electronics, spray cans, food packaging.
Much of this is considered hazardous waste, which you can read more about below.
Batteries should be disposed of separately from other waste.
Make a box (use an ice-box or jam jar) to collect your used batteries.
All of our student residences accept batteries in the same place where you can drop off your EE waste (check under Waste Management on the page for your residence), usually in the communal laundry, under the stairs by the laundry room, and so on. You can also take the batteries to the grocery store and dispose of them there (the reception is often close to the deposit box).
Batteries that are incorrectly disposed of in the rubbish are a fire hazard - both in the bin, during transport and at the recycling centre.
Both usable and damaged textiles such as clothes and shoes, sheets, bed linen and towels should be delivered for recycling or in textile collection boxes.
If you throw clothes in the residual waste, they can cause problems at the waste facility and create large greenhouse gas emissions from incineration (due to the plastic content of many clothes).
Have a fixed place where you collect textiles, clothes and shoes you want to hand in. Distinguish between damaged and usable textiles.
Separate the textiles into different bags and label the bag with the damaged textiles.
Deliver both the damaged and usable textiles in a bag or sack to a textile collection box or recycling centre.
🚚 Large amounts or items of residual waste?
If you live in student accommodation with us and are struggling to get rid of large items, you can book the janitor to remove them. You will receive an invoice afterwards for the time it took (see the current hourly rate for a janitor in the price list), in addition to the actual cost at the recycling centre.
We ask that you do not leave waste by the bins without an agreement with the janitor. Contact us to arrange removal:
Contact form🔌 This is EE waste:
Light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, energy saving bulbs, fuses, rechargeable batteries.
Mobile phones, chargers, lamps, wires, switches.
Toys with sound/lights, flashing lights.
Radios, speakers, cameras, computer equipment, watches.
Coffee makers, kettles, kitchen appliances, hair dryers.
Dumping EE waste:
In the vast majority of our residential areas (check under Garbage disposal on the website for your residential area) there is a bin in the laundry room or in the basement where you can deposit discarded EE waste. In the same place you will also find a box for used batteries.
Larger electrical appliances such as: TVs, washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, cookers, freezers, heaters and microwaves can be returned to shops where these items are sold. You do not need to buy new items to deliver. The store is obliged to accept if they sell similar products.
EE waste can also be delivered to recycling centres.
Maybe the mobile phone can be fixed rather than thrown away?
To be able to use your mobile phone for longer, it is possible to upgrade the battery or replace a broken screen.
The Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation has a great page with repair tips - here you can see how you can fix your mobile phone yourself.
☠️ This is Hazardous waste:
Paint and glue.
Nail polish and hairspray.
Spray cans and car oil.
Collect the hazardous waste in a fixed location (keep the original packaging as far as possible) and deliver it to the nearest recycling centre. If the original packaging is missing, you can use other packaging and write on it what it contains.
Hazardous waste must be labelled with the hazard symbol ⚠️. If you are not entirely sure, it is better to deliver it to the recycling centre than to throw it in the residual waste.
This is not hazardous waste:
Medical residues, weapons, unexploded fireworks, ammunition and explosives.
Medicines and residues of medicines are sorted as medical waste. This is considered environmentally hazardous waste and must be delivered to a pharmacy.
Check out sortere.no
At sortere.no you can find out where EVERYTHING should be sorted, but also get great tips on how to waste less!