Superstitious stories about mirrors have often been heard, but no superstition tells exactly where to put unwanted or broken mirrors. What do people from Riga think?
Believing in the stories of mirrors is everyone’s choice, but mirrors that are no longer needed and have served their time can be handed over to one of the branches of the company “Stikla serviss” until April 30. One of the goals of the campaign is to give a mirror a new life, so residents are invited to hand over mirrors that can be reused and restored.
“Green belt” together with “Stikla servis” has been holding this promotion for many years, this will be the sixth year already. With this promotion, we would like to bring to life the idea of recycling objects and products in the citizens. Then, if the time has come to say goodbye to the mirror, then we would like you to do it really responsibly. This is a unique opportunity, because all the products are recycled and further used in other places,” said Aija Caune, SIA “Zaļā josta” project director.
It is important to remember that
mirror glass must not be thrown into the waste containers intended for glass or, even worse, into nature.
“As part of this promotion, we want to emphasize the fact that there is no mirror [vienkāršs] glass and is not glass packaging and should not be disposed of in a glass packaging container. The mirror is definitely coated with different materials and is a composite material. By nature, mirrors are usually large in our homes and should be disposed of as bulky waste,” Caune said.
“The mirror is glass with a coating, the coatings are different, but the mirror, like glass, is produced at very high temperatures. This means that this is an energy-intensive product. Specifically [pie mums] broken mirrors or those that cannot be further processed go into this container. Then they end up in this container, and it is taken to be processed in Lithuania,” said Jana Zubricka, board member of SIA “Stikla serviss”.
People’s response is unexpectedly high, and the mirrors that are given a second and sometimes even a third life are not only handed over during the campaign. At least 70 mirrors have already been brought to one of the mirror drop-off locations, which was visited by the LTV program “Studio 4”.
“For example, last year was really a record number. We collected 5,445 kilograms or almost 5.5 tons of mirrors, and about 145 residents participated. So our idea and the main goal of this campaign was to help the environment, so that those mirrors do not end up in sheds or remain forever, or by throwing them somewhere near the containers, so that they do not end up in landfills, but that they end up in the right place,” said Zubricka.
Mirrors that are torn go into a container for recycling, while those that can still get a second life are given to various non-profit organizations.
“What do we do with them next? If possible, we treat them, maybe cut off an edge that’s damaged, or put it in a frame, because basically, as you can see here, they’re just a bit morally obsolete. We support schools, children, people with a disability,” said Zubricka.
If you also have a useless or tired mirror at home, remember that it can be restored and given a second life.
