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Darius Jakutonis, a project manager at cemetery management company Stebulė, says residents likely started visiting cemeteries more actively as early as October due to the pandemic.
“We can already see that there will be very high costs to get rid of so much waste; there are many more in the cemetery than usual this October. If the volume of exports triples every year in late October and early November, this month there should be up to four times more waste, ”says D. Jakutonis.
Typically, the cemetery managed by this company in Vilnius is removed about 200 tons of waste per month.
There is no data on how many Lithuanians leave candles in cemeteries per year. Slovenia, which is smaller than Lithuania in terms of population (the country has a population of around 2 million), announces that the population of this country burns around 16 million graves a year. candles, two-thirds of which on November 1, during All Saints’ Day. And although the data shows that 15 percent of the market was delivered last year. fewer candles than in 2018, Slovenian environmentalists still warn not to forget that all grave candles turn to waste.
Asta Pakštaitė-Marcinkienė, the director of the Electronic Products Manufacturers and Importers Organization (EGIO), Manufacturers and Importers Association (GIA), also draws attention to the recently very popular decorative LED candles. Residents use these candles at home or on vacation, and some are also taken to the cemetery.
«Decorative candles or tealights are considered electronic equipment if they are equipped with portable batteries. Another battery can be installed in the remote controls of such candles. However, batteries, like portable batteries, contain dangerous substances such as lead, lithium, zinc or cadmium that should be disposed of properly and never disposed of in household trash containers. Due to improper disposal of these products and their entry into landfills, there is a danger for the environment and human health, ”says A. Pakštaitė-Marcinkienė.
Not only that, the cemetery also contains tons of not only plastic and glass candles, but also plastic flowers that have been in the environment for hundreds of years. And during the Halloween celebration, which takes place on the eve of All Saints’ Day, the waste stream is complemented by millions of Christmas costumes and various electric garlands and other decorations, fresh and plastic pumpkins.
“It is the discards of pumpkins and the waste of food that is wasted in this way that is causing much debate about the ecology and unsustainable resources in many parts of the world. Often times, plastic pumpkins, along with batteries, are simply thrown into household waste containers, releasing hazardous chemicals into the environment, ”says the director of EGIO and GIA.
Halloween clothing contains a lot of plastic that is difficult to recycle. For this reason, it is best to avoid plastic, reuse Christmas costumes, or buy them from charity stores.
How to behave and what to change
“It would be enough to take a candle to the grave, not to buy them in boxes. As a result of these contests, candles in cemeteries appear not only in glass and plastic containers destined for them, but also among green waste ”, says D. Jakutonis.
Valdas Kaminskas, president of the November 2 society, says that although people’s attitudes are slowly changing, fundamental changes are still needed.
“First of all, you need to choose a reusable candleholder with a replaceable core, which would significantly reduce the waste stream. As there will still be waste, it is necessary to organize its recycling in Lithuania as well. In Slovenia, for example, about a thousand tons are recycled. per year tons of cemetery candles, whereas in Lithuania, none.
In addition, municipalities could force residents to maintain order and cleanliness in cemeteries they maintain and no longer store burned candles and plastic flowers. Perhaps the green tax for cemetery waste management should also be considered. The tax would encourage residents to consume and classify more responsibly, ”says V. Kaminskas in a press release.
Lithuanian residents can find all information about the disposal of small electronic devices, batteries and accumulators and other waste on the website www.atliekos.lt.
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