Do you have plans to travel to Denmark one day soon? Are you planning to study or work there for a while? Are you a minimalist, beginning your minimalist journey? Perhaps you are simply intrigued by the minimalist movement. This post is intended to help you keep a reasonable amount of items during your stay in Denmark by informing you of the many ways to get rid of your things.
This post is inspired by my Danish friend, living in Copenhagen. She helped to guide my research. I hope you find this post helpful.
1. SELLING 2. DONATING 3. RECYCLING
Photo by KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
1. Selling
If you are in Denmark and are open to online selling methods beyond Facebook groups and marketplace, here are some options I found.
GulogGratis. dk is a notable online market place that allows you to place ads for items you are planning to sell.
DBA.dk is a popular second-hand selling website. I believe it is owned by eBay. My Danish friend compared it craigslist. There you can post and sell items and use paypal for transactions.
However, my research has persuaded me to to mention that if you are going to use paypal, you should mention it whenever applicable. Additionally, your posts will be taken more seriously if it is written and Danish and more if you speak Danish, as there are and have been various scams from posts that exhibit otherwise.
Trendsales is another cool site if you are looking to sell clothing, home decor, or technological devices! You can even find some high-end items there if you feel so inclined to shop.
Photo by KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
2. Donating
Facebook Groups. If you happen to be staying in copenhagen, check out this Facebook groups.
Free Your Stuff Copenhagen – Donate items, no selling. Click here.
Free Your Books Copenhagen – Donate books, no selling. Click here.
The Red Cross. The Red Cross has hundreds of second-hand shops located all over Denmark. There you can donate your clothing, linens, shoes, textiles, purses, bags, and belts. If you prefer not to step inside a shop, they also have over a thousand blue clothing containers for you to donate the items mentioned above. Your donations must be cleaned and not wet, but they can be torn or have some damage. To locate their shop fronts and clothing containers, click here.
Kirkens Korshær. Kirkens Korshær ( The Church’s Crusaders in English) is an organization that offers resources, shelter, and social work for the sake of aiding the disadvantaged population in Denmark. They have over two-hundred second-hand shops where you can donate your unwanted clothing and textiles. In Copenhagen, they also have a pick-up service if you wish to donate large furniture, paintings, sculptures, and other home items that are in decent condition for reselling. Their pickup services are done by appointment. Click here to learn more.
Danmission
Danmission is another charity with shops you can donate items and buy second-hand. You can find there shops here.
Photo by KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
3. Recycling
RESOURCES
Click here to find locations of bottle recycling stations, where to recyle specific residue, farmacies where you can donate medicine, etc.
Click here to find all recyling stations managed by ARC (Amager Ressource Center). Normally this is where you take household waste not general food waste. There you can drop off garden waste, hazardous waste, lightbulbs, chemicals, soil, brick, concrete, DIY work waste, etc. Click here to learn more about their recycling stations. You can also take furniture here.
And here is a helpful guide to sorting waste, explained in English and Danish.
Recyling explained & vocab
Below, I will touch on the most common types of waste that you can recycle.
RESTAFFALD – RESIDUAL WASTE. This waste can be placed in any regular, non specific plastic bag before going into the correct bin. This bin takes, juice or milk cartons, pizza boxes, hiygen/ sanitary waste, packaging fillers, styrofoam, foam ruber, animal droppings, ashes, sawdust, charcoal, etc.
MADAFFALD or BIOAFFALD – FOOD WASTE. Food waste should be deposited in the appropriate bin in green biobags called “bioposer”. Make sure it is tied tight to avoid leaking. This bin allows for coffee grounds, tea leaves, filter papers, paper towels, and food scraps. Food scraps includes cooked and uncooked food and things like, bones, shells, peels, pastas and rices, meats, eggs pastries, nuts,fruit and vegetables, oils and sauces, and spreads like cream cheese. Also “cut flowers”, apparently.
PLAST – PLATIC. Put in plastic containers for food and beverages, plastic bottles labeled with the danger symbol, plastic bags, cling film, plastic soap bottles, plastic cleaning products, etc.
METAL. Such items include aluminum, tinfoil trays, food and beverage tins, baking tins, coffee capsules, magazine holders, curtain clips, cutlery, and tools like, hammer screws, nails, etc.
PAP – CARDBOARD. There is no need for a bag when recycling cardboard, but each item should be broken down before recycled. Flatten them, even stomp on them, if necessary. This bin takes cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, paperboard boxes from packaging, cereal boxes, shoe boxes, egg carton boxes, and postcards.
PAPIR – PAPER. Place in the appropriate bin without as is. No need for a bag. Deposit paper items like newspapers, ads, mail, notebooks, magazines, paper books, and just simple paper.
GLAS – GLASS. Click here to find local glass bins. They accept all types of glass and bottles (clear and colored glass). They even take broken glasses. The exception is crystal glass, which must be taken to a recycling center. Additionally, leaving the lids on bottles and glasses is allowed.
HAVEAFFALD – GARDEN WASTE. If you want to use a bag to hold the garden waste, it must be made of paper. Do not use plastics. Garden waste includes plants, fallen fruits, branches, weeds, grass, flowers, leaves, and flower beds (apparently).
ELEKTRONIK – ELECTRONICS. Apartment inhabitants should deposit electronic waste in the electronic waste bin located not far from the premises. Larger electrical waste should be sorted under large (bulky) waste, and if necessary, contact the apartment’s waste service manager for collection. In a home, you place them in the red hazardous waste bin. If you live in a house it goes in the hazardous waste bin, and again, larger items might require contacting city workers for collection.
Electronics include all items with a cord and/or are powered by batteries or solar cells, small kitchen appliances such as stick blenders and microwave ovens, cell phones, chargers electronic toys, television, electrical appliances, stove, and washing machines, etc. Note: One should remove all batteries before recycling items.
FARLIGT AFFALD – HAZARDOUS WASTE. Hazardous waste should be placed in a large metal bin, labeled as such near your residence. Hazardous waste examples include light bulbs, batteries, paint, chemicals, poisons, aerosols, and wood treatment oil. If you are still not sure about what qualifies as hazardous waste you are welcome to consult the references that I have linked at the end of this post.
4. Final thoughts
I am pleased with all of the recycling options that I have been able to discover through research. I find Denmark’s recycling system quite comprehensive. My Danish friend tells me that she and many of the Danish people she knows have a hard time parting with personal possessions. Fortunately, even if this is the case, there are a multitude of ways for one to eventually part ways with their items the moment they choose to do so.
Did you find this article useful? Or maybe you have more suggestions and resources you would like to share. Do you have experience using any of the sites I shared, and want to comment below? Please feel free to let me know so I can share accurate info that continues to help others.
And in the meantime, take minimalism with you wherever you go and keep adventuring towards the life of your dreams!
References:
- https://denmarknu.dk/recycling-in-denmark/
- https://international.kk.dk/artikel/recycling-copenhagen
- https://www.recycleindenmark.com/copenhagen
Video Resources for Recycling in Denmark
Featured image by Grzegorz
