To opt for non-plastic packaging when making purchases
We would gladly live without the vision of the sheer amount of packaging that accumulates in our homes on a weekly basis. If we are careful enough when making our purchases, our paper and carton might end up being the double of our plastic. And still, the blue bags from Valorlux are collected every 15 days. This paradoxically is how we see our efforts nullified.
8 Valorlux sacs bleus on the pavement, in Luxembourg.
To feel accountable for the success of Valorlux
Valorlux — an association who count on shared responsibility and put into place durable solutions with regard to garbage collection and recycling. They operate in 104 town halls, providing their services to almost all towns and villages in Luxembourg. They call for the collaboration of the local administration, schools and enterprises. Their members as well as private citizens are considered accountable for the success of their efforts.
2 Valorlux sacs bleus on the pavement against a red wall, in Luxembourg.
To educate on the plastic recycling process
You might know the sacs bleus from the educational quizzes on what to and what not to throw along with more obvious plastic. You can order them online and receive them directly in your mailbox. Their reputation precedes their arrival.
We can be quite reassured that the plastic we help to recycle – in a minimal yet potentially fundamental way – is being sorted out by colour and specific material later on, and that any undesired material is being manually removed. Around 2,500 tonnes per year are being recycled.
8 Valorlux sacs bleus on the pavement against 2 concrete columns, in Luxembourg.
To melancholically become recycled plastic
There is some sort of poetry about these sacs bleus that lie abandoned on the sidewalks. They usually come in a group. They keep each other company. In the morning mist, condensation makes their content kind of hard to distinguish. They very rarely know the warmth of the Sun. They are often covered in raindrops that make their black print fade away.
The plastic from Luxembourg travels 500 kilometers to reach a recycling centre in Bourgogne, France. The plant receives 46,000 tonnes per year, and is able to process 75% of this material. Plastic is being transformed into chips of recycled PET and HPDE, that will be eventually brought back to Luxembourg. New products or packaging are being created using a variable percentage of recycled plastic.
1 Valorlux sac bleu on the pavement against a yellow wall, in Luxembourg.
To step in the same plastic again and again
This is the story of infinite recycling. Heraclitus would say: “No man ever steps in the same river twice.” For water flows and, for this precise reason, is ever-changing.
In our context, plastic remains the same, at least in part, stagnating to form a lake, yet adopting new forms and functions when recycled.
4 large Valorlux sacs bleus on the pavement against a window, in Luxembourg.
Disclaimer: Valorlux is the source of all the information and data.