Yard work bees
Resident committees (formerly building committees) can organise yard work bees for residents to clean up the yard area.
Arranging bees
Yard work bees are generally organised twice a year in spring and autumn. Agree on the community effort and the necessary arrangements in good time, no later than two weeks prior to the planned date.
Heka arranges supplies and collection equipment for the cleaning waste generated during the yard work bee based on the orders of the resident committee or trustee. You can order bee supplies no more than two times a year.
Large bags are ordered for yard work. Large bags are only used for garden waste, such as twigs, branches, leaves, weeds and other waste, which is created during yard work. Residents are not allowed to deposit their own belongings, furniture or other scrap on bags. Scrap skips are not ordered for residents to use.
Once the date for the bee has been set, a representative of the resident committee notifies Heka through the Resident Portal (instructions below). By using the resident pages, you ensure that the message is delivered directly to the correct person for processing.
Please make the order at least two weeks prior to the community effort.
- Supplies can only be ordered through Heka, not directly from the supplier. Heka orders the supplies from its contracted partners based on orders made through defect notifications.
- The supplies are ordered in the defect notifications in the Resident portal by selecting “community effort skip and equipment” in the notification.
- In the notification, break down what supplies and equipment you will be needing (e.g. large bags, wheelbarrow and rakes).
- Heka’s maintenance supervisor will confirm to the house committee the schedule of the community effort based on when the equipment is available.
- See instructions on ordering seasonal plants (link)
- The collection equipment come with clear sorting labels and signs attached by the supplier, indicating the waste types and instructions on how to sort them. These instructions must be observed.
Notify the residents about yard work bees in good time through the Heta application, the building’s social media group or the noticeboard, for example. The invitation should mention at least the date and time of the community effort, the activities involved, whether or not the cleaning will cover other areas besides the yard, and whether or not the sauna will be heated after the activities.
Suitable tasks include, for example, raking and cleaning the courtyard and planting seasonal plants. Expertise is required to fertilise plants, trim hedges and cut trees, so they should not be tampered with in this context without permission and proper instructions. Maintenance of playgrounds and playground equipment must also be left to professionals.
Children often have plenty of enthusiasm for community efforts, so it is a good idea to consider suitable work tasks in advance.
- Catering can be ordered for the community efforts according to the instructions regarding the appropriations.
- The sauna can also be heated in the context of the activities, if no residents have reserved it. The sauna must be booked in the context of ordering the community effort equipment.
- The local volunteer fire brigade can be invited to introduce fire extinguishing equipment and provide instruction on how to use a fire blanket.
- A police car – a favourite among children – can also be requested for the event. The police can then instruct residents on how to secure their bicycles and other property.
- Guidance on waste sorting can be obtained by requesting free sorting guidance from HSY for the event.
Clearing out the bicycle storage
Over time, abandoned bikes and other means of transport are often accumulated in bicycle storage rooms. If building’s bicycle storage room is in need of a clear-out, contact Heka maintenance to make the arrangements.
Heka will handle notifications regarding the clear-out of the bicycle storage, the marking of bicycles and other equipment as well as the disposal of any scrap items.
Sort and recycle correctly
For the success of the community effort, it is important that the waste is sorted correctly and only suitable waste is deposited in the respective containers. The community effort skips are only intended for community efforts. Only such waste that is shown in the sorting labels can be brought to the community effort skips, so that recycling will not need additional work.
Each resident is always responsible for properly recycling their own electrical appliances, electronics, furniture, textiles, etc. Heka’s waste collection points are only intended for waste suitable for the bins located there.
You can bring household hazardous waste, electrical appliances and electronics as well as scrap metal to the HSY mobile collection vehicle free of charge.
The mobile collection vehicles of Pääkaupunkiseudun Kierrätyskeskus (Recycling Centre of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area) accept household electronics free of charge.
Recyclable waste, mixed waste and hazardous waste can be taken to HSY’s Sortti stations.