SWEDISH WASTE MANAGEMENT |2010 - Avfall Sverige

SWEDISH WASTE MANAGEMENT 2010
HOW SWEDISH WASTE MANAGEMENT WORKS
Waste shall be treated in such a way that the
maximal environmental and social benefits
are achieved. All parties participate in this
work – from producers to households.
The local authorities are responsible for the
household waste, the producers are responsible
for their various product groups, and the
operators in the sector are responsible for taking
care of all waste which is not household
waste.
The households have the responsibility to
separate and deposit waste at the different
collection points available. The households
also have the responsibility to follow the regulations
for waste management within their
municipality.
Waste management is prioritized according
to a five step waste hierarchy:
• waste prevention
• reuse
• material recycling
• recovery – such as energy recovery
• disposal
Exceptions from the hierarchy may be necessary
for technical, economical or environmental
reasons.
EU decisions set the frameworks for the
Swedish waste management. The environmental
objectives of the Swedish Parliament govern
the waste management and its environmental
aspects. These are the environmental
objectives for the waste sector:
• A 50 percent reduction of waste going to
landfills, excluding mining waste, by the
year 2005 compared to levels in 1994.
• By 2010, at the latest, a minimum of 50
percent of household waste shall be recovered
through material recycling, including
biological treatment.
• By 2010 at least 35 per cent of food waste
from households, restaurants, institutional
catering and shops is to be recycled by biological
treatment. The objective refers to
source-separated food waste intended for
both home composting and central heating.
• By 2010, at the latest, food waste and consequently
all equivalent waste from food
industries etc., shall be recycled through
biological treatment. The objective refers to
waste that has not been mixed with other
types of waste, and which subsequent to
treatment is of adequate quality for use in
crop production.
• By 2015, at the latest, at least 60 percent
of phosphorus pollution in effluent shall be
treated and used on productive lands, of
which at least half should be used on arable
land.
Several of these environmental objectives
have been fully or almost fully achieved.
The most important treatment methods for
waste are:
• material recycling
• biological treatment
• Waste-to-Energy
• landfill
Hazardous waste can be treated with one or
several of these methods, depending on the
character of the waste.
Recycling of packaging, paper, scrap, electric
waste, and batteries reduce the environmental
impact and save energy and resources.
Biological treatment is implemented
through anaerobic digestion or composting.
Anaerobic digestion produces biogas which
can be used as vehicle fuel. The biogas produced
from waste is equivalent to millions of
liters of petrol. Anaerobic digestion also produces
digestate which is an excellent nutrient.
Composting produces long-lasting fertilizer
used as soil improver in gardens, parks and for
ground installations.
Waste-to-Energy is an effective and environmentally
safe method for producing energy
from waste. Every year, it produces heating
which corresponds to the need of 820,000
average households, approximately 25 percent
of all the district heating produced. It also
produced electricity which corresponds to the
need of more than 275,000 houses.
Landfilling is a treatment method for waste
which cannot or should not be treated in any
other way. Landfilling means that waste is kept
in a long-term safe way, and this treatment
method is controlled by a strict regulatory
framework.
The local authorities can choose how to
organize the waste management. This possibility
of municipal self-government is laid down
in the constitutional law.
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