Swedish Waste Management - Avfall Sverige
Swedish Waste Management - Avfall Sverige
Swedish Waste Management - Avfall Sverige
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SwediSh waSte management 2012contentSPreface 3how SwediSh waSte management workS 4waSte minimiSation and PreParation for reuSe 6collection and tranSPort 8waSte quantitieS 2011 10hazardouS waSte 12BatterieS 16weee 17material recycling 18Biological treatment 21waSte-to-energy 25landfill 28waSte economicS 30non-houSehold waSte 32waSte agenda 33gloSSary 36aBout avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – SwediSh waSte management 39adminiStrative office 39cover PhotoThe man on the cover is Lulzim “Zaggi” Zogejani. He works at a recycling centre.Every day Zaggi and his colleagues throughout Sweden help to recycle and reuse6 million kilos of waste.2
SwediSh waSte management 2012Prefaceaccording to the latest statistics from avfall<strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste management, wastevolumes are increasing slightly after havingfallen for two years in a row. the new figuresillustrate the importance of never being satisfiedwith existing collection, recycling andtreatment methods. not only can these methodsbe improved and refined; we also need tocontinue reducing waste quantities both inSweden and beyond our borders.this year’s waste statistics also show theimportance of ensuring that our vision “zerowaste” permeates all levels of waste managementand that it becomes the motto of allSweden’s waste management professionals.collection of source-separated food waste ison the increase. municipalities have previouslybeen criticised for being too slow in their collection.But putting a functioning collectionsystem into place takes a long time and it isvital to get it right from the very start. close to60 percent of Sweden’s municipalities havenow introduced collection systems forsource-separated food waste and an additional70 municipalities are planning to follow suit.in this year’s statistics we can for the firsttime report new municipal collection and recyclingsystems in more fractions including gypsum,flat glass and non-packaging plastic.they are now included in the material recyclingfigures.as of this year hazardous waste is no longerreported as a treatment method but is includedin the material recycling or waste-to-energystatistics.office paper, on the other hand, has beenremoved from the statistics. it is not householdwaste and is not included in the material recyclingfigures.as a result of these changes, previouslypublished statistics are not comparable withthis year’s figures.<strong>Swedish</strong> waste management 2012 is ourpublication for players in the waste industry,decision makers, authorities, educational institutions,the media and all other stakeholders.in it we present text, diagrams and tablesillustrating household waste managementpractices in Sweden. Statistics in the publicationare obtained from the avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s webbasedstatistics system avfall web and fromthe producers’ organizations.malmö, September 2012weine wiqvist, managing directoravfall <strong>Sverige</strong>3
SwediSh waSte management 2012how SwediSh waSte management workSwaste management should be geared towardsachieving the maximum environmental andsocial benefit. everyone should participate inthis endeavour: producers, businesses,municipalities and households.municipalities are responsible for householdwaste; producers for their respectiveproduct groups and enterprises for handlingall non-household waste.households have an obligation to separateand deposit waste at available collectionpoints. they also have an obligation to complywith municipal waste management regulations.waSte hierarchywaste management shall, as far as possible,be prioritised according to the following wastehierarchy: prevention preparation for reuse reuse recycling other recycling, e.g. waste-to-energy disposal.deviations from the hierarchy may be sometimesnecessary for technical, financial orenvironmental reasons.the regulatory frameworks for europeanwaste management are established by the eu.Based on these frameworks, <strong>Swedish</strong>Parliament (riksdag) decides how <strong>Swedish</strong>waste management should be structured. inthe 2000s the riksdag and its environmentalgoals have steered Sweden towards greenerwaste management practices; a process inwhich the country’s municipalities have playeda key role. landfill as a treatment method forhousehold waste, for instance, has fallen fromaround 5% in 2005 to less than 1% in 2011.in may 2012, the <strong>Swedish</strong> governmentimplemented a set of new objectives, two ofwhich concern waste management. the objective of greater economisation ofresources in the food chain requires theimplementation by 2018 of measures toensure that resource economisation in thefood chain manifests itself by at least 50percent of food waste from households,large-scale kitchens, stores and restaurantsbeing separated and treated biologicallyto recover plant nutrients, and by atleast 40 percent being treated to recoverenergy. the objective regarding construction anddemolition waste requires the implementationby 2020 of measures aimed at ensuringthat the preparation for reuse and materialrecycling and other material utilisationof non-hazardous construction and demolitionwaste is at least 70 percent in weight.treatment methodSwaste treatment methods are: material recycling biological treatment waste-to-energy landfill.hazardous waste can be treated using severalof these methods depending on the waste’scharacteristics.the material recycling of packaging, returnpaper, scrap metal, waste from electrical andelectronic equipment (weee) and batteries,etc. reduces their environmental impact, savesenergy and economises on natural resources.4
SwediSh waSte management 2012Biological treatment closes the eco-cycleand returns nutrients to the soil. waste istreated via anaerobic digestion or composting.anaerobic digestion produces digestate andbiogas which can be used as vehicle fuel.composting produces long-lasting fertilizerwhich can be used as soil improver in gardens,parks and for ground installations.waste-to-energy recovery is an efficient andenvironmentally safe method for recoveringenergy from waste. it provides both districtheating and electricity. waste-to-energy is amethod ideally suited for waste which cannotbe recycled in any other way.landfill is a treatment method for wastethat cannot or should not be recycled. landfillentails waste being stored in a manner that issafe in the long-term. landfills of organic orcombustible waste is prohibited.how waSte management iS organiSedmunicipalities can decide how to organise theirown waste management activities – the rightof municipal self-determination is laid down inthe <strong>Swedish</strong> constitution – and there are severalorganisational forms available to them: self-administration municipal enterprises, independently orjointly with other municipalities joint boards municipal associations.Some municipalities also cooperate on specificissues such as joint procurements. formany municipalities, collaboration is a naturalprocedure that achieves the greatest possibleenvironmental and social benefit, assurescost-efficient waste management and guaranteesthe supply of necessary competence,which benefits municipal inhabitants and theenvironment alike.in around 70 percent of <strong>Swedish</strong> municipalities,household waste collection is outsourcedto external players, i.e. private companies,while other municipalities provide it as a publicservice. waste treatment is either performedby the municipalities themselves or by anexternal player, e.g. another municipal enterpriseor a private company. the ratio in thedifferent operational forms depends on thetreatment method.5
SwediSh waSte management 2012Prevention,PreParation for reuSewaste prevention is the first step in the wastehierarchy. it also receives high priority in<strong>Swedish</strong> waste legislation.Sweden has a good track record when itcomes to recovering material, energy andnutrients from waste. But we can go even furtherby minimising the generation of waste.the environmental benefit of a product isgreater if it is never produced than if it is produced,used and recycled. <strong>Swedish</strong> municipalitieshave shouldered a large share of theresponsibility for reducing waste and minimisingthe quantity of hazardous substances inwaste that is generated. for avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’smembers, waste minimisation work has a highpriority. the annual meeting in 2011 adoptedthe long-term vision “zero waste”. this visionhas two goals for 2020: to break the relationshipbetween waste quantities and growth andto effect a clear, strong movement up thewaste hierarchy. municipalities have a key roleto play as the drivers of change and as theguarantors of long-term, sustainable wastemanagement.a report from avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> 1 includes severalexamples of municipalities that have successfullyreduced waste quantities: the alelyckan recycling Park in gothenburgprevents 360 tonnes of waste from beinggenerated annually by recycling productsinstead of discarding them. gävle municipality is running hållbara familjer(Sustainable families), a project whereseveral families have to adopt a greenerlifestyle for one year. one of the project’sassignments was to reduce waste. on average,each family produced three kilos lesswaste per month during the course of theproject. halmstad municipality organised a schoolscompetition to see which school couldreduce the most food waste during the“european week for waste reduction”. theresult was an 11 percent drop in food waste.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste management isthe national coordinator of the eu project“european week for waste reduction”, whichis also supported by the <strong>Swedish</strong> environmentalProtection agency. the project runs one weekin november when activities aimed at reducingwaste and the quantity of hazardous substancesin waste are arranged all over europe. theproject began in 2009 and runs until 2015.Preparation for reuse and recycling is thenext step in the waste hierarchy. one of thegoals of the national waste plan is to promotethe reuse of household waste. measuresinclude making it simpler for people to depositmaterial and products for reuse or for preparationfor reuse.there is a lack of tools for following uptrends in waste management and for checkingthat measures are geared towards set goals.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste managementand a number of other players have thereforeinitiated a joint project aimed at producingindicators for monitoring resource-efficientwaste management and tools for following uptrends and the work on avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s “zerowaste” vision.1 u 2011:05 good examples of waste Prevention for municipalities – compilation of ideas for more sustainable production and consumption.6
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SwediSh waSte management 2012collection and tranSPortthere are a number of different systems forcollecting and transporting household waste.household waste in bins and bags can be collectedeither as a mixed fraction intended forwaste-to-energy recovery or in separate fractions– one for food waste and one for combustiblewaste.mixed combustible waste from single-familyhouses is mostly collected in 190-litre binsthat are emptied every fortnight. there arealso a number of different bag and bin sizeswhich are emptied at different intervals. wastefrom apartment blocks is usually collected ona weekly basis.the most common collection system forsource-separated food waste is in separatebins, one for food waste and one for combustiblewaste, by multi-compartment bin or byoptical sorting. optical sorting requires householdsto separate waste into different colouredbags that are placed in the same bins. the bagsare transported by the waste collection vehicleto an optical sorting facility where they are separatedautomatically for appropriate treatment.optical sorting has been introduced by severalmunicipalities in the last few years.eskilstuna municipality has optical sorting insix fractions: food waste paper packaging newspaper metal packaging plastic packaging other household wastein 2012 linköping, vadstena and motalajoined the list of municipalities to introduceoptical sorting for food waste.most municipalities provide curbside collectionof packaging and newspaper from apartmentblocks. Some 30 municipalities alsoprovide the same service for single-familyhouses. Packaging and newspaper is commonlyseparated into two four-compartmentbins which are collected at different intervals.one bin, which can be designated for foodwaste, combustible waste, paper packaging orcoloured glass, is emptied every fortnight. theother bin, which is designated for clear glass,metal, plastic packaging or newspaper, isemptied every four or eight weeks.traditional rear-loading vehicles are still thepredominant waste collection vehicles, but theproportion of multi-compartment vehicles isgrowing and becoming more technicallyadvanced. Side-loading vehicles account for amore steady proportion of the vehicle fleets.a growing number of vehicles use biogas asfuel, which municipalities can control throughtheir procurement requirements. in addition,alternative fuels such as rme, and varioushybrid technologies to reduce climate impactare also used. through procurement, municipalitiescan also impose requirements on thework environment adaptation of waste binsand vehicles.modern collection SyStemSwaste collection was previously marred bymany work-related injuries. daily heavy liftingwas part of the job and waste collectionrequired workers to be in good physical shape.today bags have been replaced with bins orother types of containers. manual waste handlingis being replaced by new technology andautomated systems such as vacuum collectionand underground container systems.Both these systems are becoming moreprevalent, particularly in large cities and newlybuilt-up areas. one advantage is that they donot require as much heavy manual handling.while work environments have improved inmany respects, there are still problems thatthe industry is continuously working to resolve.vacuum refuse collection is a good systemfrom a work environment perspective as it isclosed and fully automated. the system alsoreduces the need for transportation, particularlyinside residential areas.there are two kinds of vacuum refuse collectionsystems: stationary or mobile. with thestationary system, refuse is collected by airinto an automatic vacuum system. it is transportedthrough underground tubes which connectthe waste drop chutes to large containersthat are placed in a terminal. with this technology,waste can be transported up to two kilometresfrom the drop chute.the number of containers depends both onthe number of separated fractions, and oncollected waste quantities. the containers arecollected by load carrying vehicles.the mobile vacuum collection system alsouses air to collect waste, but here the vacuumunit is located inside the vehicle. a storage8
SwediSh waSte management 2012tank is positioned under each drop chute. thetanks are connected together via an undergroundpipe system, leading to a docking pointwhich can be placed up to 300 metres fromthe tanks. the vehicle connects to the dockingpoint for emptying. the vacuum system isswitched on and air propels the waste from thestorage tanks to the docking point and into thevehicle. mobile refuse vacuum collectionrequires special vehicles.underground container systems are anothergrowing collection system. containersplaced underground reduce the need forspace at street level. the temperature belowstreet level, where the waste is contained, isrelatively low, which prevents odour and thecontainers are easily emptied with a hook-liftvehicle. there are also underground containersthat are emptied by front-loading vehicles.Since the underground containers carry largervolumes, the number of transports can bereduced.recycling centreSat the manned municipal recycling centres,households can drop off bulky waste, electronicwaste and hazardous waste. Bulky waste ishousehold waste that is too heavy, too bulky orotherwise inappropriate for collection in bagsor bins.in 2011, households dropped off 1.6 milliontonnes of bulky waste, mostly at mannedmunicipal recycling centres. a small proportion,about ten percent, was collected throughcurbside collection. Bulky waste accounted fora volume equivalent of 173 kg per person.there are around 630 recycling centresthroughout the country which combinedreceive about 20 million visits annually.the quantities of bulky waste and hazardouswaste dropped off at recycling centreshave increased significantly in recent years.many municipalities have therefore adaptedand modernized their recycling centres. manysmaller recycling centres have closed asmunicipalities are building new, larger centresbetter-suited to current waste quantities andnumber of visitors.many of Sweden’s recycling centres have inrecent years had severe problems with burglariesand break-ins. Personnel have also beensubjected to threats by visitors. most of thelarger newly-built recycling centres have thereforeinstalled electric fences which have considerablyreduced the number of break-ins.Several municipalities have also introduced abarrier gate system at their recycling centreswhich improves safety, provides a functionalaccess control system and boosts visitor statistics.this system is often combined with anentry pass giving households a certain numberof free visits. in some municipalities owners ofsmall businesses may also use the servicesprovided at the recycling centres for a fee.recycling StationSthe producers’ system of some 5,800unmanned recycling stations for handlingpackaging and newspaper is designed to coverthe entire country’s needs. collection systemsshould be designed by the producers in consultationwith municipalities. the recyclingstations have separate containers for newspaperand different packaging materials.a growing number of municipalities areintroducing curbside collection of packagingand newspaper from apartment blocks andsingle-family houses.according to a survey by avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> 2 ,about 60 percent of the contents of householdtrash bags can be recycled. in householdswhere there is no source separation of foodwaste the figure is almost 80 percent. the surveyhas compiled 246 solid waste analysescarried out by Sweden’s municipalities since2007. Single-family houses are generally betterat separating recyclable materials; about 30percent of the contents of their garbage binsconsist of packaging and newspapers. in apartmenthouseholds this figure is 36 percent. halfa percent of the contents of garbage bins consistsof hazardous waste, batteries and wastefrom electrical and electronic equipment(weee), but mostly weee. the chosen collectionsystem also affects the degree of separation.Single-family houses with curbside collectionseparate waste most effectively, leavinghalf the amount of packaging and newspaper inthe trash bag compared with other households.2 u2011:04 national mapping of solid waste analyses of household waste in bins and bags.9
SwediSh waSte management 2012waSte quantitieS 2011in 2011 quantities of household waste totalled4,349,910 tonnes, an increase of 3.5 percentcompared with 2010. taken across the wholepopulation, Swedes on average produced458.7 kg of household waste in 2011, comparedwith 443.3 kg per person in 2010.Biological treatment rose by 4.3 percent to650,300 tonnes or 68.6 kg/person. 14.9 percentof household waste went to biologicaltreatment in 2011. quantities of collected foodwaste increased by 10 percent to 275,000tonnes. food waste is increasingly treated viaanaerobic digestion instead of composting.food waste that goes to joint anaerobic digestionplants has risen by 28 percent while foodwaste that goes to central composting plantshas fallen by 24 percent. food waste undergoinganaerobic digestion at waste purificationplants totalled around 65,000 tonnes. homecomposting of food waste continues to declineas more municipalities are introducing centralisedfood waste collection.waste-to-energy recovery rose by 5.3 percentto 2,235 720 tonnes or 235.8 kg/person.51.4 percent of household waste went toenergy recovery in 2011. one explanation forthis increase is the sharp rise in quantities ofbulky waste by 120,000 tonnes to 1.6 milliontonnes, an increase of 8 percent. a large portionof bulky waste goes to waste-to-energy.quantities of waste in bins and bagsincreased by 3.6 percent to 2.2 million tonnes.collection of hazardous waste increased by16 percent to just under 60,000 tonnes. halfthis hazardous waste consists of impregnatedtimber which goes to incineration. impregnatedtimber accounts for a large proportion of thisincrease.material recycling increased by 0.8 percentto 1,425,690 tonnes or 150.3 kg/person.32.8 percent of household waste goes tomaterial recycling. municipalities today havesystems for collecting several types of materialfor material recycling. as of 2011, materialrecycling statistics also include gypsum, flatglass and non-packaging plastic, also knownas municipal plastic waste. Some water-basedpaints and oil filters go to material recycling.quantities of packaging and return paperfell by 2 percent. other household waste formaterial recycling increased by 11 percent.Scrap metal increased by 4 percent.landfill of household waste fell by 9 percentto 38,200 tonnes compared with 2010 or4 kg/person. landfill accounts for 0.9 percentof total treated waste.hazardous waste is no longer reported aspart of the trend for treated waste. it is includedin the quantities of material recycling,waste-to-energy or landfill. office paper is nothousehold waste and no longer counts asmaterial recycling. while the quantities in thewaste statistics for 2007-2011 have beencorrected accordingly, the statistics in previouspublications are not directly comparable.collected volumeS of waSte in BinS and BagS and Bulky waSte, 2007–2011 (tonneS)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011waste in bins and bags* 2,211,900 2,226,700 2,167,800 2,152,000 2,230,900Bulky waste 1,227,400 1,421,100 1,498,400 1,518,000 1,638,000(kg/PerSon)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011waste in bins and bags* 241 241 232 229 235Bulky waste 134 154 160 161 17310*waste in bins and bags consists of mixed combustible waste, separated combustible waste and source-separated food waste.Source: avfall web/avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> 2012
SwediSh waSte management 2012treated volumeS of houSehold waSte, 2007–2011 (tonneS)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011material recycling 1,591,180 1,520,470 1,604,400 1,414,410 1,425,690Biological treatment 561,300 597,280 617,680 623,200 650,300waste-to-energy 2,190,980 2,292,970 2,173,000 2,123,680 2,235,720landfill 186,490 140,250 63,000 42,000 38,200Total treated volumes 4,529,950 4,550,970 4,458,080 4,203,290 4,349,910treated volumeS of houSehold waSte, 2007–2011 (kg/PerSon)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011material recycling 173.3 164,3 171.8 150.2 150.3Biological treatment 61.1 64.5 66.1 66.2 68.6waste-to-energy 238.6 247.7 232.6 225.5 235.8landfill 20.3 15.2 6.7 4.5 4.0Total treated volumes 493.3 491.7 477.3 443.3 458.7treated volumeS of houSehold waSte, 2007–2011 (%)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011material recycling 35.1 33.4 36.0 33.7 32.8Biological treatment 12.4 13.1 13.9 14.8 14.9waste-to-energy 48.4 50.4 48.7 50.5 51.4landfill 4.1 3.1 1.4 1.0 0.9Total treated volumes 100 100 100 100 100Source: avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>1975-2011tonnes2,500,0002,000,0001 500,0001,000,000milj. tonnes5432500,0001019751994 2000 20052011Biological treatmentIncineration with energy recoveryLandfillMaterial recycling02007 2008 2009 2010 2011material recyclingBiological treatmentincineration with energy recoverylandfill11
SwediSh waSte management 2012hazardouS waStein 2011, 59,830 tonnes of hazardous wastewas collected from households. on averageSwedes handed in 6.3 kg of hazardous waste.this quantity also includes 30,000 tonnes ofimpregnated timber and 5,450 tonnes ofasbestos.hazardous waste is no longer reported aspart of quantities of treated household wasteas it was before. hazardous waste can be treatedusing different methods and is thereforeincluded in the total volume of treated waste.hazardous waste has a number of distinguishingcharacteristics. it can be toxic, carcinogenic,corrosive, toxic for reproduction,ecotoxic, infectious or flammable.in some products hazardous substancesmay occur in extremely small quantities, butcollectively they can cause substantial damageif they end up in the wrong place. it istherefore important that hazardous waste isseparated and handed in in the correct mannerand at the right place.local authorities are responsible for hazardoushousehold waste. this responsibilityincludes collection, transport and treatment.the responsibility is regulated by theenvironmental code, the waste collection andhazardous waste disposal ordinance and themunicipal waste regulation ordinance.households have an obligation to separatehazardous waste from other household waste.most municipalities have regulated this obligationin the municipal refuse collection regulations.at national level, Sweden lacks a follow-upsystem for hazardous waste from industry andother enterprises. furthermore, there are noexact statistics available for the amounts ofhazardous waste from industry. according toofficial <strong>Swedish</strong> waste statistics reported tothe eu by the <strong>Swedish</strong> environmentalProtection agency, <strong>Swedish</strong> households andenterprises produced 2.5 million tonnes ofhazardous waste in 2010, including scrapvehicles from households, weee, etc.collection SyStemSthe most common collection system for hazardoushousehold waste is to hand it in atmanned municipal recycling centres. Severalmunicipalities have discontinued theunmanned recycling stations and have insteadintroduced some form of curbside collection.approximately 40% of all municipalities inSweden provide curbside collection of hazardouswaste, often in combination with severalother collection systems.treatment methodShazardous waste often requires pre-treatmentto facilitate further treatment. Since hazardouswaste may contain substances whichshould be phased out of the eco-cycle, treatmentis often aimed at destroying these sub-12
SwediSh waSte management 2012stances. Substances that cannot be renderedharmless or reused are taken to landfill. inthese cases it is important that the waste ischemically and physically stable so that hazardoussubstances do not leak out to surroundingareas.to recycle material from hazardous waste,the hazardous substances are separated andthe remaining parts are recycled. this methodis used for disposal paint tins and oil filtersamong other things. toxic and non-degradablesubstances such as pesticides and other hazardouschemical waste are incinerated inspecial furnaces at high temperatures.contaminated soil can be decontaminatedthrough biodegradation. impregnated timbercontains ecologically harmful substancessuch as arsenic, creosote and copper.collected timber is chipped and incinerated inspecially licensed waste-to-energy plants.collected quantity of hazardouS waSte 2000-2011tonnes60,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,0000-00 -02 -04 -06 -08 -10 -11Collected quantity of hazardous waste (excl. asbestos and impregnated wood)Collected quantity of hazardous waste (incl. impregnated wood)Collected quantity of hazardous waste (incl. asbestos and impregnated wood)Source: avfall web/avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> - <strong>Swedish</strong> waste management 201213
SwediSh waSte management 2012BatterieSin 2011, 2,700 tonnes of portable batteriesand 500 tonnes of built-in batteries was collected.an average of 340 grams per capita.this represents an increase of 16 percentcompared with 2010. in 2011, 6,780 tonnesof car batteries, an average of 0.7 kg per capita,was collected – 3 percent less than theprevious year.Battery producers are responsible for thecollection, treatment, recycling and disposal ofall batteries regardless of when they appearedon the market. Producers are also responsiblefor conducting nationwide information activities.Producer’s organisation el-kretsen handlesthe collection of portable batteries inabout 70 percent of municipalities, while theremaining municipalities handle the collectionas a service in exchange for an agreed compensationfrom the producers.all collected batteries are taken handledand separated according to chemical contentbefore being sent for recycling or disposal: car batteries are sent for recycling and thelead is used in new car batteries. Batteries containing nickel/cadmium aresent for treatment, where the cadmium isreused in open nickel cadmium batteries,which are used in industry. the nickel isrecycled by steel mills. nickel metal hydride batteries are recycled. Batteries containing mercury are sent forprocessing. mercury should not be recycled.therefore, the mercury is extracted frombatteries so that it can be taken out of theeco-cycle and disposed of safely. lithium batteries are taken care whereverthe cobalt can be recovered and used as anadditive in the steel industry, for instance.all batteries should be collected and recycledas far as possible.collection of Small BatterieS 2002-2011kg/person0.350.300.250.200.150.100.050.0-02 -03 -04 -05 -06 -07 -08 -09 -10 -11Incorporated batteriesPortable batteriesSmall batteriesIncorporated and portable battery is reported separately since 2009.Source: El-Kretsen and <strong>Avfall</strong> Web/<strong>Avfall</strong> <strong>Sverige</strong> 201214
SwediSh waSte management 2012weeein 2011, 149,280 tonnes of waste from electricaland electronic equipment (weee ) wascollected, an increase of 4 percent comparedwith 2010. on average, each person handed in15.7 kg of weee in 2011, compared with 15.3kg per person in the previous year.collection SyStemSSince producer responsibility for weee wasintroduced in Sweden in 2001, municipalitiesand producers have cooperated on the managementof electronic waste. avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> –<strong>Swedish</strong> waste management, the <strong>Swedish</strong>association of local authorities and regions(Salar), and the electrical producers’ servicecompany, el-kretsen, created the “el-retur”system. in this collaboration, municipalitiesassume responsibility and receive compensationfor the collection of weee from households,while the producers are responsible forits treatment.collection of weee from households is primarilycarried out at manned municipal recyclingcentres, of which there are approximately630 throughout the country. in around 80percent of municipalities there are three ormore municipally organised collection systemsfor weee.curbside collection by municipalities orentrepreneurs covers around 1,200,000households. collection via stores, including theelectronics industry’s own collection system, isavailable at more than 1,500 collection points.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste managementand el-kretsen collaborate with several municipalitieson different projects to develop thesecollection systems. one such system is thecollection container for light bulbs and smalleritems of weee. there are around 100 of thesecollection containers placed in stores andother public places all over Sweden.the development of different recycling technologieshas simplified the collection processfor consumers, who can now put all their lightsources into the same container.treatment methodSweee is pre-treated, i.e. separated and dismantled,before being sent for further treatment.Pre-treatment is carried out at certifiedfacilities, after which the waste is forwardedfor final treatment or recycling.components containing hazardous substances,i.e. hazardous waste, are treated atapproved treatment facilities. once the hazardoussubstances are removed, a lot can berecycled. Plastic cases are incinerated inwaste-to-energy plants and the metal is sentto smelting plants for recycling. recoveredcopper, aluminium and iron is used as rawmaterials in new products. computers, mobilephones and other it products contain smallamounts of precious metals that are alsorecovered. Some printed circuit cards, forinstance, contain gold and/or silver.fluorescent tubes and low-energy bulbscontain mercury. these products are thereforeseparated and treated in a closed process. thefluorescent powder and mercury can be reusedin production of new light sources. the glass iscleaned and reused in glass jars and bottles.Sometimes old electronic products aredonated to other countries as charity. Butwhile it may seem a good cause, it is not anenvironmentally friendly practice. from anenvironmental point of view, it is better to recyclethese products in Sweden where there aremethods for treating such waste in an environmentallysound manner.in 2012 avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> and el-kretsen areconducting a joint campaign “lysande återvinning”(literally: “Brilliant recycling”) to increasethe collection of light sources and small itemsof weee.collected quantity of weee 2003-2011tonnes200,000150,000100,00050,0000-03 -04 -05 -06Source: El-Kretsen-07Collected quantity of WEEE-08 -09 -10 -1115
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SwediSh waSte management 201217
SwediSh waSte management 2012material recyclingmaterial recycling totalled 1,425,690 tonnesin 2011 or 150.3 kg per person. 32.8 percentof household waste went to material recyclingin 2011, an increase of 0.8 percent comparedwith 2010.the total quantities include collected packagingand newspaper from households thathas been dropped off for material recycling.these fractions amounted to 757,430 tonnesor 80 kg per person.the portion of material recycling thatincludes weee, refrigeration units, batteriesand bulky waste collected at municipal recyclingcentres was 312,630 tonnes or 33.2 kgper person.Packaging and newspaper is mainly collectedat some 5,800 unmanned recycling stationsthat producers operate. these items canalso be collected at the manned municipalrecycling centres. most municipalities providecurbside collection of packaging and newspaperfrom apartment blocks. Some 30 municipalitiesalso have the same service for singlefamilyhouses.households and sometimes also small businessescan drop off their bulky waste, weeeand hazardous waste at manned municipalrecycling stations. a lot of bulky waste, e.g.scrap metal, can be recycled. wood can beturned into fuel, garden waste can be composted,stones and soil becomes landfillingmaterial, etc. today there are also recyclingmethods for gypsum, flat glass and non-packagingplastic (also known as municipal plasticwaste).material recycling plays a key role in a sustainablesociety. it is therefore vital that wasteis seen as a resource and treated in the rightmanner. material recycling leads to separatedmaterial being able to replace other productionor construction materials. material recyclingmeans that the consumption of theamount of virgin material decreases and alsosaves energy. By using recycled steel, forinstance, we save on the same amount of virginmaterial and save more than one tonne incarbon dioxide.in 2010-2011, avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong>waste management conducted a nationalmaterial recycling campaign, arranged incooperation with <strong>Swedish</strong> municipalities. theobjective of the campaign was to increaseknowledge about material recycling, boostpublic confidence in the material recyclingwork of municipalities and help increase materialrecycling.18
SwediSh waSte management 2012collection reSultS 2011Packaging and PaPer houSehold[tonnes] [kg/person]newsprint 383,500 40.4Paper packaging 125,600 13.2metal packaging 16,660 1.8Plastic packaging 48,270 5.1glass packaging 183,400 19.3Total 757 430 79.9Source: avfall web and förpacknings- och tidningsinsamlingen (fti).the information relates only to the collected waste from households throughrecyclingstations and so called curbside collection.material recycling houSehold 1975-2011tonnes2,000,0001,800,0001,600,0001,400,0001,200,0001,000,000800,000600,000400,000200,00001975 1980 19851990 1995 2000 2005 2011RecyclingRecycling excl office paper, including newfractions for recyclingcollected houSehold waSte for material recycling, 2007-2011 (tonneS)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011return paper 474,000 459,000 420,000 386,000 383,500cardboard, metal, plasticand glass packaging 759 520 739 140 852 830 704 730 682 100weee 129,700 122,900 117,770 117,100 122,530refrigeration units 30,500 28,800 26,080 26,730 26,760Portable batteries 1,660 1,830 1,720 2,750 3,200car batteries 5,000 6,000 5,280 7,000 6,780weee, non-producer responsibility 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,050oil filters 1,800 1,800 1,800 1,800 1,820water-based paint 4,000 4,000 4,000 3,750 4,100Scrap metal 180,000 152,000 169,920 159,050 164,730gypsum - - - - 18,090flat glass - - - - 1,630Plastic, non-packaging - - - - 5,400Total 1,591,180 1,520,470 1,604,400 1,414,410 1,425,690Source: avfall web, el-kretsen and förpacknings- and tidningsinsamlingen (fti)quantities also include collected packaging from businesses. a lot of this material is ‘equivalent household waste’.Statistics about municipal material recycling of gypsum, flat glass and non-packaging plastic will be collated as of 2011.details about oil filters, water-based paint and weee not inside the producers’ responsibility for 2007-2009 are estimates.19
SwediSh waSte management 2012Biological treatmentin 2011, 650,300 tonnes of household wastewas biologically treated through anaerobicdigestion or composting. this is a decrease of4.3 percent compared with 2010. 68.6 kg ofwaste – green waste and food waste – wasbiologically treated in 2011. Biological treatmentnow accounts for 14.9 percent of thetotal quantity of treated household waste.the biological treatment of food waste,excluding home composting, totalled 275,000tonnes in 2011. anaerobic digestion at jointanaerobic digestions plants increased by 28percent compared with 2010. composting offood waste is on the decline as more foodwaste is being treated by anaerobic digestion.increaSe in collection ofSource-SeParated food waStethe collection and treatment of source-separatedfood waste increased by 10 percent in2011 compared with 2010. according to asurvey that avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> wastemanagement carried out, close to 60 percentof municipalities collect source-separatedfood waste. about 20 of them only collect foodwaste from restaurants and large-scale kitchens,while the remaining municipalities havesystems for households as well. the surveyalso shows that an additional 70 municipalitiesare planning to introduce systems for thesource-separation of food waste.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> has published a joint report 3with several other players in the industry tohelp municipalities and enterprises get startedwith their collection of source-separated foodwaste. among other things, the report showsthat it takes many years to introduce a collectionsystem for source-separated food waste,from the initial planning until the system is upand running. the report outlines which systemsare currently available in the market anddescribes the experiences of municipalitiesthat have successfully introduced source-separatedfood waste collection.Solid waste analyses of household wasteshow that single-family households generatedaround 90 kg of food waste per person eachyear. for residents in apartment blocks thefigure is even higher, around 100 kg. this doesnot include food waste from restaurants,schools and similar.food waste mainly consists of fruit and vegetableresidues, but a report from the nationalfood administration shows that a large partconsists of fully edible food, more than 50kilos per person each year. according to thestudy, between 10 and 20 percent of all purchasedfood is discarded unnecessarily sinceit could have been eaten had it been treateddifferently.collection SyStemSthe most common collection system forsource-separated food waste from single-familyhouseholds is in two separate bins, one forfood waste and one for combustible waste. amulti-compartment system is also available inwhich different fractions are separated intoseparate containers.another collection system sometimes usedis optical separation of different coloured bagsthat are put into the same container. the systemis now being used in more municipalitiesthan before.treatment methodSanaerobic digestion produces digestate, whichis an excellent fertilizer with a high nutrientcontent. in 2011 594,000 tonnes of digestatewas produced, of which more than 90 percentwas returned to agriculture. using digestateinstead of mineral fertilizer returns nutrients tothe soil, including phosphorus, which is a finiteresource. the anaerobic digestion of biologicalwaste produces biogas, which consists ofmethane and carbon dioxide. Biogas is renewableand can, after upgrading, be used as anenvironmentally sound vehicle fuel, for heatingor electricity production. compost is usedmainly in soil improvement agents or soilmixes.3 u 2011:19 tools for introduction of systems for the collection of source-separated food waste and guide #2 introduction of system for collecting source-separated food waste21
SwediSh waSte management 2012certified recyclingPlants that produce compost or digestate fromseparated bio-waste, including food wastefrom the food industry, can put quality labelson their products after being certified.the certification system has been developedby avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> in consultation with theagriculture and food industry, compost anddigestate producers, soil producers, authoritiesand research. the <strong>Swedish</strong> organic label“krav ” and the <strong>Swedish</strong> Seal of quality(Svenskt Sigill kvalitetsråd) approve digestatethat is based on source-separated food waste,which is certified in accordance with avfall<strong>Sverige</strong>’s system. the technical researchinstitute of Sweden (SP) is the inspection bodyof this certification system. around 90 percentof all digestate used in agriculture today iscertified. the system has not had the sameimpact on compost. one reason could be thatcompost is primarily used in soil manufacturingand customers have not placed the samerequirements on the product as the foodindustry has done on fertiliser for agriculturalproduction.certification imposes requirements on theentire management chain from incomingwaste to final product. 13 biogas plants –Bjuv, Borås, falkenberg, helsingborg,Jönköping, kalmar, kristianstad, laholm,linköping, norrköping, uppsala, västerås andvänersborg – and three composting plants –Borlänge, malmö and Örebro – are certified.minimiSing methane emiSSionSavfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste managementis engaged in a voluntary initiative to minimiseemissions from biogas and upgrading plants.atmospheric emissions can arise at differentstages of biological treatment through theanaerobic digestion of organic material and inbiogas upgrading processes in treatmentplants. even though the emissions from biogasplants are low, they should be minimizedfor several reasons. approximately 40 biogasand upgrading plants have signed up for thevoluntary undertaking.Total biological treatment includinghousehold waste (tonnes) 1 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011anaerobic digestion 356,087 405,580 535,930 661,620 555,050composting 515,294 568,700 630,500 566,210 690,100Total 871,380 974,280 1,166,430 1,227,830 1,245,150Resource economisation (tonnes) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011digestate 336,100 389,350 498,720 582,750 594,310Energy production (MWh) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011vehicle gas 149,230 204,720 262,600 264,680 321,600electricity 1,230 700 0 0 60heating 67,960 48,740 41,280 50,980 17,380flaring 10,400 25,840 13,560 12,450 10,390Total (MWh) 228,820 280,000 317,440 328,110 349,430Source: avfall web, avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>1) these quantities refer to plants that primarily treat household waste. they do not provide a complete picture of biological treatment in Sweden.2) the decrease in 2011 is due to two plants which were previously included in our statistics but have since been removed.refers to facilities at waste purification plants and is included in the statistics that the <strong>Swedish</strong> water and wastewater association produces.222
SwediSh waSte management 2012Composting Total (tonnes) household wasteale 1,480 430alingsås 2,020 1,840Borlänge 11,790 11,210eslöv 9,940 9,940fagersta 3,400 700filipstad 980 10gällivare 9,650 400gävle 12,020 12,020göteborg 31,120 4,360halmstad 115,570 6,350helsingborg 13,860 13,460huddinge 12,900 12,900hässleholm 12,530 9,480Jönköping 10,000 10,000karlshamn 8,970 8,320karlskrona 8,000 8,000karlstad 37,000 0klippan 6,160 5,040kristianstad 10,300 7,560kristinehamn 15,480 0kungsbacka 7,510 1,910landskrona 6,680 3,190ludvika 10,630 3,380luleå 14,000 11,500malmö 34,500 31,170mariestad 1,580 0motala 3,160 3,160Sala 12,400 6,700Simrishamn 5,300 4,320Sunne 670 590Söderhamn 6,230 800Södertälje 3,200 3,200tranås 1,800 250trelleborg 7,500 3,610täby 23,200 9,040uppsala 15,290 14,150västerås 12,800 4,200växjö 7,300 7,300ystad 10,400 6,760Årjäng 1,290 70Örebro 16,170 14,500Östersund 11,020 5,290Total 545,800 257,110other plants 144,300 144,300Sweden 690,100 401,410Source: avfall web, avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s statistics include composting facilities that isreceiving household waste. the majority also receives other wastes.the facilities in karlstad, kristinehamn and mariestad are despite thisdefinition included.home composting will reside.Anaerobic digestion Total (tonnes) household wasteBjuv 52 600 1,500Borås 34,360 25,420falkenberg 83,000 800falköping 6,760 1,440helsingborg 64,600 11,920huddinge 830 800Jönköping 16,520 11,080kalmar 27,500 0kristianstad 85,150 25,460laholm 55,970 660linköping 50,000 0norrköping 15,500 0Skellefteå 6,100 4,500uppsala 19,800 17,650vänersborg 15,850 15,390västerås 20,510 15,760Total 555,050 132,380Source: avfall web, avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s statistics include anaerobic digestion facilities that receivehousehold waste. the majority also receives other waste.the facilities in kalmar, linköping and norrköping are, despite this definitionincluded.Biological treatment 1975 – 2011tonnes700,000600,000500,000400,000300,000200,000100,00001975 1980 19851990 1995 2000 2005 2011Biological treatment of household waste (tonnes) 2010 2011food waste to joint anaerobic digestion plants 103,580 132,380food waste to public composting plants 101,720 77,520food waste that undergoesanaerobic digestion at purification plants 45,000 65 000food waste that is home composted 58,800 51,500green waste to centralised composting facilities 314,100 323,900Total 623,200 650,300food waste is household waste and therefore comparable with households, restaurants,food stores, schools and similar. waste from the food industry, slaughterhouses, etc. is notincluded.23
SwediSh waSte management 201224
SwediSh waSte management 2012in 2011, 2,235,720 tonnes of householdwaste went to waste-to-energy. this is anincrease of around 112,000 tonnes comparedwith 2010. on a per capita basis for the wholeof Sweden, 235.8 kg of household waste perperson went to waste-to-energy. waste-toenergyaccounts for 51.4 percent of the totalquantity of treated household waste.waste has become an increasingly importantfuel in <strong>Swedish</strong> district heating systems.in total, 15.5 twh of energy was producedthrough incineration, of which 13.5 twh wasused for heating and 2 twh for electricity.a study on european waste-to-energy production4 shows that Sweden has the highest rateof energy recovery from waste incineration.in addition to household waste, 3 milliontonnes of other waste, primarily industrialwaste, was also treated by <strong>Swedish</strong> plants.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s statistical information mainlyrefers to plants treating household waste.energy recovery also takes place inwaste-to-energy plants where householdwaste is not treated, but there is no comprewaSte-to-energyhensive data on the total energy producedthrough the incineration of waste in Sweden.reSiduethe residue from incineration consists of slagfrom the furnace, 15–20 percent by weight ofthe treated waste, and flue gas treatmentresidues, 3–5 percent by weight. Some of theslag goes to landfill, while slag gravel may beused as substitute for natural gravel in roadconstruction work and landfills, for example.flue gas treatment residues are either transportedto landfills or used as a neutralizationagent when refilling mines.exPanSion and imPortthere are 30 incineration plants for householdwaste in Sweden. their expansion will continuein 2012-2013. according to a study byavfall <strong>Sverige</strong> 5 , the capacity for waste incinerationin Sweden is greater than domesticdemand for combustible waste and will continueto increase over the next few years.152,000 tonnes household waste wasimported to Sweden in 2011, mainly fromnorway. total imports of waste for energyrecovery was 813,000 tonnes. avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>– <strong>Swedish</strong> waste management and the<strong>Swedish</strong> district heating association haveperformed a study that indicates a decline ingreenhouse gas emissions as a result of theseimports.recycling methodSaccording to the eu framework directive onwaste, waste incineration with efficient energyrecovery is regarded as recycling. it is ahygienic and environmentally sound treatmentmethod for waste that cannot or should not betreated in any other manner.<strong>Swedish</strong> waste incineration plants complycomfortably with the energy production criterionin the eu framework directive on waste,which is a requirement to be considered arecovery operation.4 2008:13 energy from waste from an international perspective5 f2012:03 capacity survey 2011. Supply and demand for waste treatment until 202025
SwediSh waSte management 2012Supplied <strong>Waste</strong> (tonnes)<strong>Waste</strong> to Energy (MWh)Municipality Plant of which householdTotal waste from Sweden Heat Electricityavesta källhagsverket 56,190 29,350 182,050 0Boden Bodens värmeverk 99,320 35,070 304,990 26,230Bollnäs Säverstaverket 39,920 32,340 106,840 6,750Borlänge fjärrvärmeverket, Bäckelund 88,780 33,060 204,890 36,550Borås ryaverket 110,050 25,230 215,000 51,300eda Åmotsfors energi 71,310 13,980 176,800 19,500eksjö eksjö energi aB 49,750 21,150 90,020 14,490finspång ftv värmeverket 27,930 24,160 69,830 0göteborg Sävenäs avfallskraftvärmeverk 535,810 248,670 1,419,300 263,270halmstad kristineheds avfallsvärmeverk 190,350 99,690 423,450 67,100hässleholm Beleverket i hässleholm 44,510 26,200 103,700 9,000Jönköping kraftvärmeverket torsvik 165 010 40,720 385,490 111,030karlskoga karlskoga kraftvärmeverk 85,510 34,540 258,020 32,830karlstad avfallsvärmeverket på heden 50,790 44,520 147,690 0kil kils avfallsförbränningsanläggning 14,200 0 39,200 0kiruna kiruna värmeverk 69,870 10,760 162,000 31,440kumla SakaB förbränning 162,540 40,030 253,580 55,140köping norsa avfallsförbränningsanläggning 28,200 23,100 72,620 0lidköping Pc filen 98,000 44,580 286,850 19,590linköping gärstadverket 396,860 142,540 1,031,400 116,400ljungby ljungby energi aB 59,000 48,270 132,260 15,530malmö Sysav förbränningsanläggning 548,730 174,370 1,393,080 248,820mora avfallsförbränningen mora 20,150 14,650 53,070 0norrköping e.on händelöverket 335,590 204,670 787,790 130,150Skövde värmekällan 56,480 27,760 178,350 12,070Stockholm högdalenverket 701,920 425,620 2,139,770 347,000Sundsvall korsta kraftvärmeverk 208,500 100,500 540 80Södertälje Söderenergi 381,030 0 1,241,830 170,550uddevalla lillesjö avfallskraftvärmeverk 100,010 49,150 189,150 58,080umeå dåva kraftvärmeverk 121,020 50,710 352,750 79,480uppsala vattenfall aB värme uppsala 324,000 157,180 970,940 44,450västervik Stegeholmsverket 47,180 13,150 125,140 0Total 5,288,510 2,235,720 13 498 390 1 966 830avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s statistics include waste incinerators receiving household waste. the majority also receives other waste.the plants in Södertälje and kil are included despite this definition.the amount of household waste includes household waste only from Swedenthe total amount of waste also includes imported waste.in the energy recovery stated above, the energy of support fuels is included.26
SwediSh waSte management 2012<strong>Waste</strong>-to-energy recovery and emissions 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Incineration (tonnes)household waste 2,190,980 2,292,970 2,173,000 2,123,680 2,235,720other waste 2,279,710 2,273,840 2,497,840 2,976,690 3,052,790Total 4,470,690 4,566,810 4,670,840 5,100,370 5,288,510Production (MWh)heating 12,151,270 12,196,620 12,284,420 12,631,900 13,498,390electricity 1,482,750 1,527,600 1,647,850 1,781,620 1,966,830Total 13,634,020 13,724,220 13,932,270 14,413,520 15,465,220Atmospheric emissions (tonnes)dust 24 30 37 20 28hcl 60 39 35 49 56Sox (So 2) 196 154 211 228 195nox (no 2) 2,101 2,190 2,350 2,360 2,190Atmospheric emissions*hg (kg) 36 44 58 58 59cd + tl (kg) 6 136 15 6 10Pb (kg) 51 136 170 180 183dioxin (g) 0.5 0.8 2.6 0.8 0.6Slag, bottom ash (tonnes) 649,680 693,140 736,020 850,200 879,640rgr, fly ash (tonnes) 183,370 202,920 216,660 239,050 256,880*emission values are reported in accordance with waste incineration regulationswaSte to energy 1991 – 2011tonnes5,000,0004,000,0003,000,0002,000,0001,000,000energy recovery 1991 – 2011MWh15,000,00012,000,0009,000,0006,000,0003,000,000-91 -96 -01-08 -11Energy recovery from waste incinerationhousehold waste-91 -96-01-08 -11Energy production Heat27
SwediSh waSte management 2012landfillin 2011, 38,000 tonnes of household wastewent to landfill, a decrease of 3,800 tonnes or9 percent, compared with 2010. on a per capitabasis for the whole of Sweden, it represents4 kg per person. 0.9 percent of householdwaste went to landfill in 2011. in 2011, a totalof 1,515,000 tonnes of waste was depositedat <strong>Swedish</strong> landfill sites for municipal waste,an increase of 245,000 tonnes compared withthe previous year. this is partly due to anincrease in the landfill of contaminated matter.landfill is the treatment method used forwaste that cannot be treated in any other way,e.g. tiles, porcelain and crushed concrete.landfill is only part of the operation at amodern waste management site. most sitesalso separate waste materials going to treatment,for transportation to reuse, recyclingand energy recovery plants. Sometimes landfillsites also serve as temporary storage forlarge quantities of waste that fall under theproducer’s responsibility, such as paper, glassand waste fuel.Plants also often treat biodegradable wasteand contaminated matter. final capping ofclosed landfills and landfill cells can also takea long time.on 31 december 2008, much stricter eulandfill regulations took effect, and almost halfof all landfill sites for municipal waste wereclosed. in 2011 household waste was landfilledat 79 waste management plants. most ofthe landfill sites that continue operating takenon-hazardous waste. landfill sites that areclosed must be capped with a final cover.together these landfills cover an estimatedarea of 25 km2, and the estimated total costfor the final covering of the sites is about Sek6 billion. every year, approximately 6-8 milliontonnes of material is used for the final coveringof landfill sites. natural material is notalways available, and in many cases, residuessuch as slag, sludge, ashes and contaminatedsoil is used instead.gas and leachate is still being collectedfrom closed landfill sites. in 2011, approximately270 gwh was produced from recoveredlandfill gas at 57 waste managementplants, of which 237 gwh was used for energy.energy recovery consisted of 16 gwh in theform of electricity and 221 gwh in the form ofheating. in all, 32 gwh of landfill gas wasflared. flaring does not produce energy reducesmethane emissions. waste is still landfilledat 46 plants with gas recovery.in 2011, 106 waste management plantstreated almost 9 million cubic meters of leachate,including polluted surface water fromstorage, separation and treatment areas. only68 of these plants are still landfilling waste.dilution due to leakage of groundwater andsurface water can also vary significantly at thedifferent plants. more than half the plantsmaintain that leachate is diverted to municipalwastewater plants after various degrees oflocal treatment. other plants maintain thatleachate is treated locally.28
SwediSh waSte management 2012landfilled quantitieS, 1994–2011 (tonneS)landfilled waSte quantity 1994 – 2011Landfilled quantities of which household waste1994 6,080,000 1,380,0001995 5,340,000 1,200,0001996 5,050,000 1,110,0001997 4,750,000 1,150,0001998 4,800,000 1,020,0001999 4,900,000 920,0002000 4,450,000 865,0002001 4,240,000 880,0002002 3,770,000 825,0002003 2,940,000 575,0002004 2,480,000 380,0002005 1,940,000 210,0002006 1,830,000 226,0002007 1,994,000 186,0002008 1,670,000 140,0002009 1,030,000 63,0002010 1,271,000 42,0002011 1,515,500 38,200tonnes7,000,0006,000,0005,000,0004,000,0003,000,0002,000,0001,000,0000-94 -96 -98 -00 -02 -04Quantity of waste depositedhousehold waste-06-08 -10-11avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s landfill statistics do not provide a complete picture of landfill in Sweden.there is some uncertainty about the figures for household waste as it is not alwayspossible to distinguish flows of household waste from other waste.energy recovery at landfill SiteS (mwh)2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011recovered energy 282,200 290,100 310,800 294,240 262,200 237,400of which electricity 20,800 22,600 23,700 17,400 20,400 16,000flaring 60,200 52,100 65,100 43,600 36,600 3 2,200Source: <strong>Avfall</strong> Web29
SwediSh waSte management 2012waSte economicSmunicipalities and producers handle the managementof household waste. the municipalcosts are charged as a separate waste collectionfee while the producers’ costs as a feeincluded in the price of the product.the local councils set the municipal wastecollection fees and the producers decide onthe amount of the product fee.as a rule, waste collection fees cover thetotal costs for the municipal waste management,but deficits can be tax-funded.administration, such as waste planning, customerservice, invoicing and information areincluded in the costs. the fee must also coverthe service costs at the recycling centres forthe collection and handling of bulky waste andhazardous household waste. the fee is oftenbased on one fixed and one variable fee, e.g.one fee for waste collection and one for wastetreatment.according to the self-cost principle in thelocal government act, the municipalities’ revenuefrom fees may not exceed the costs ofthe municipal waste management.average feethe average annual waste collection fee of a<strong>Swedish</strong> single-family house is Sek 2,000according to data from avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> –<strong>Swedish</strong> waste management’s statistics systemavfall web. apartment households pay anaverage of Sek 1,260 and the average fee forsecond homes is Sek 1,130 a year.many municipalities which introduced thevoluntary collection of food waste, use the feeas a means of control. those who choose afood waste subscription pay a lower fee thanthose who choose to deposit mixed waste.to achieve a higher recycling rate for waste,several municipalities have introduced a feebased on weight, where households pay anadditional rate ‘per kilo’ of waste collected ontop of the basic fee. in 2011, 29 municipalitieshad implemented weight-based rates. in thesecases, the collection vehicles are equippedwith a scale and equipment to identify eachindividual bin. the total annual cost for weightbasedfees varies depending on the quantityof waste deposited for collection. the fee variesbetween Sek 1.30-3.50 per kg for binsand bags, combined with different types of binfees and the fixed basic fee. Some municipalitieswith food waste collection have lowerweight charges for the food waste bin. thenormal system, however, is to have the sameweight charges for combustible waste andfood waste.the cost for waste management is on averageSek 670 per person each year, excludingvat. the municipal cost for collecting waste inbins and bags is on average Sek 205 per personeach year. treatment of the waste is notincluded in the cost. the annual basic fee ofSek 283 per person covers the cost of therecycling centres, treatment of hazardouswaste from households, planning, informationand administration. the statistics are providedby avfall web and are based on data fromaround one-third of Sweden’s municipalities.there are several ways to reduce the environmentalimpact of waste management, improveresource efficiency and increase recycling.they can either be information-based oradministrative or financial means of control.examples of administrative control includeregulations and prohibitions such as emissionlimit values and prohibition against the landfillof organic waste.financial means of control can either be anincentive, e.g. tax relief and subsidies, or apenalty, e.g. taxes and charges. one groundrule is that the polluter should pay.tax on landfilled waste was introduced in2000 as a way to reduce landfill. the tax wasinitially Sek 250 per tonne, but has since beenraised several times. Since 1 July 2006, thelandfill tax has been set at Sek 435 per tonneof waste. the landfill site operator is the personwho is liable to pay the tax. treatment feescan vary greatly from one facility to another.Some fees include transport, while others donot. the fees reflect the charges that municipalitieshave to pay.incineration fees per tonne are on thedecline. many municipalities still have the oldagreements, however, where the reductionhas not yet taken effect. the fees for anaerobicdigestion are increasing.30
SwediSh waSte management 2012at avfall web municipalities can also feed in the results from theircustomer satisfaction surveyslandfill tax 2000 – 2012the surveys show that 81 percent of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with thewaste management in single-family houses 84 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with the wastemanagement in apartments 74 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with the wastemanagement in second houses 87 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with the collection ofwaste in bins and bags 87 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with their visit to therecycling centre 74 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with the accessibility ofthe recycling centre 74 percent are satisfied with the recycling stations 79 percent said they handed much or all of their hazardous wasteto the collection systemSEK/tonnes5004003002001000-00 -02-04 -06 -08 -10 -12treatment fee for houSehold waSte (excl. vat) 2011SEK/tonnes Anaerobic digestion Composting Incineration Landfillaverage 590 540 510 820interval 240-730 380-740 420-860 570-1,170The information is based on data from <strong>Avfall</strong> Web to which about half of the municipalities have contributed.Intervals show the normal distribution of treatment fees.31
SwediSh waSte management 2012non-houSehold waSteindustries are responsible for managing theirown non-household waste. Some have theirown landfill sites at their disposal or can recoverenergy from waste in their own incinerationplants.the collection and handling of waste generatedfrom construction, renovation, rebuildingor demolition of buildings, or from more extensiveground installation projects do not fallunder the responsibility of the municipality.waste from minor maintenance work andhouse repairs counts as household waste.Some construction and demolition waste isclassified as hazardous waste, asbestos andimpregnated timber, for example and must behandled accordingly.collected data on non-household waste canbe found in the official statistics presented tothe eu by Sweden through the <strong>Swedish</strong>environmental Protection agency. according tothe eu’s waste Statistics directive, each memberstate must report its country’s statisticsonce every two years. the latest statisticsconcern waste quantities for 2010. quantities of waste generated by businesses:113.5 million, of which 89 million tonneswas mining waste. in-house waste treatment by businesses:96.7 million tonnes, of which 87.4 milliontonnes was mining waste. other treatment: 16.7 million tonnes. hazardous waste: 2.5 million tonnes, ofwhich 2.1 million tonnes is accounted for byindustry/the service sector.the entire eu generates 3 billion tonnes ofwaste. Sweden accounts for a relatively largeproportion of waste, because of its miningwaste.32
SwediSh waSte management 2012waSte agendamajor changes in laws, ordinances and regulationsgoverning the waste management industry.1999 the environmental code with associateddirectives and regulations.2000 introduction of Sek 250/tonne tax on wasteto landfill. municipalities no longer have the option totake voluntary responsibility for non-householdwaste.2001 ordinance containing regulations aboutwaste to landfill. ordinance concerning producer responsibilityfor waste from electric and electronicequipment (weee).2002 tax on waste to landfills increased to Sek288/tonne. waste ordinance containing new list ofwaste types. landfill ban on separated combustiblewaste. ordinance regarding the incineration ofwaste. applies with immediate effect fornew plants.2003 tax on waste to landfills increased to Sek370/tonne government bill 2002/03:117 “a societywith non-toxic and resource-efficient ecocycles”is published. Parliamentary debateand vote on the government bill.2004 clarification regarding waste owner’sresponsibility introduced to chapter 15,section 5 a of the environmental code. regulations and general advice about themanagement of combustible and organicwaste. changes to the directives regarding producerresponsibility for packaging and returnpaper.2005 landfill ban on organic waste. <strong>Swedish</strong> environmental objectives: quantityof waste to landfill, excluding mining waste,must be reduced by at least 50 percent comparedwith 1994. (according to the statistics,reached in 2003 for household waste.) new ordinance about producer responsibilityfor waste from electric and electronicequipment (weee) came into force on 13august. the previous ordinance continuesto apply for light bulbs and light sources. ordinance and regulations about wasteincineration came into force on 28december.2006 tax on household waste to incineration wasintroduced on 1 July. tax on waste to landfills increased to Sek435/tonnes. new ordinances regarding requirements forreceiving waste at landfill sites, and regulationson contents laid down in a municipalwaste plan. new ec ordinance 1013/2006 regardingtransportation of waste comes into force.2007 guidance on the concept of householdwaste from the <strong>Swedish</strong> environmentalProtection agency. introduction of increased environmentalresponsibility for operators, and increasedlegislation on environmental crime.33
SwediSh waSte management 2012 the municipalities’ possibility of taking voluntaryresponsibility for non-hazardoushousehold waste is repealed on 1 July. the municipalities’ possibility of taking voluntaryresponsibility for hazardous wasteother than household waste is repealed on1 July. new ordinance regarding environmentallyhazardous operations and health protectionwith new permit and application levels inthe appendix.2008 new legislation on public procurementtakes effect on 1 January. all operational landfill sites must follow ordinancesand regulations for landfilling. implementation of demands on preapprovedcollection systems for packagingand certain types of paper such as newspaper,and on authorization requirements torun such collection systems professionally.the amendment is proposed to come intoforce on 1 September. new framework directive for waste fromthe european community. new ec ordinance with directives regardingexport of waste to certain countries forrecovery. new ec ordinance with directives regardingan eu embargo on exports of mercury, etc.2009 new ordinance regarding batteries takeseffect on 1 January.2010 incineration tax on household waste wasrepealed on 1 october 2010. new handbook from the <strong>Swedish</strong>environmental Protection agency aboutrecycling of waste at facilities. an ordinance amendment authorizes the<strong>Swedish</strong> environmental Protection agencyto negotiate agreements for less strict registrationprocedures for waste transports inborder districts between Sweden, finlandand denmark. revised definition of biogas to make it possibleto have the definition include landfillgas. tax exemption for biogas transportedin pipelines. the tax exemption shall applyfor gas all the way to the client according toagreement. tax on commercial fertilizer is removed on 1January 2010. the insurance on environmental damageand decontamination is removed on 1January 2010. new law on sustainability criteria for biofuelsand bioliquids. implementation of criteriain renewability directive 2009/28/ec. revised regulations from the <strong>Swedish</strong>environmental Protection agency regardinglarge incineration plants and waste-to-energyincineration, amendments to nfS2002:26 and nfS 2002:28 respectively. revised regulations from the <strong>Swedish</strong>environmental Protection agency aboutdemands for landfill sites for hazardouswaste as well as landfill sites for non-hazardouswaste to manage collection andreport meteorological data, amendment tonfS 2004:10. national target to recycle a minimum of 35percent of food waste from households,restaurants, large-scale kitchens, andstores through biological treatment by2010. national target to recover a minimum of 50percent of household waste through materialrecycling, including biological treatmentby 2010. national target to recycle all food waste andequivalent waste from food industries etc.,through biological treatment by 2010. the revised eu framework directive onwaste to be implemented no later than 12december34
SwediSh waSte management 20122011 the new regulation (ec ) 1069/2009 foranimal by-products, applies from 4 march2011 a new penal regulation for littering comesinto effect on 1 July. new waste rules came into force in <strong>Swedish</strong>law through changes in the environmentalcode, chapter 15 (effective 9 July) and anew waste collection and disposalordinance (SfS 2011:927, effective 10august).2013 By 12 december, at the latest, eu memberstates shall have established nationalwaste prevention programmes to reducewaste volumes and make the waste lessharmful. the programs shall either be partof waste plans in accordance with the directiveor other environment policy programs.the requirements are laid down in thewaste framework directive 2008/98/ec.2014 waste containing a minimum of 0.1 percentby weight of mercury and which is not landfilledin accordance with authorization givenby the environmental code, or with regulationslaid down in this code, will be disposedby means stated in the waste collectionand disposal ordinance (with some exceptionsgiven in the regulation (ec1108/2008).2015 By 2015, at the latest, the eu memberstates shall have established separate collectionof paper, metal, plastic and glassprovided that it is practicable from a technological,environmental and financial point ofview. the requirements are laid down in thewaste framework directive.2018 the objective for greater resource economisationin the food chain means that measuresmust be implemented by 2018 toensure that resource economisation in thefood chain manifests itself by least 50 percentof food waste from households, largescalekitchens, stores and restaurants isseparated and treated biologically to recoverplant nutrients, and by at least 40 percentbeing treated to recover energy.2020 the eu has the objective of reducing emissionsof greenhouse gas by 20 percent by2020, compared with the emission rates in1990. the <strong>Swedish</strong> Parliament has calledfor a reduction of Sweden’s emissions by 40percent compared with 1990. the overalltarget is to produce a total of 20 percentrenewable energy within the eu and that 10percent of all vehicle fuel shall be producedfrom renewable resources. the framework directive for waste meansnew recycling goals for the member states.By 2020, 50 percent of the total amount ofpaper, metal, plastic and glass in householdwaste and equivalent waste shall be reusedor recycled. for construction and demolitionwaste the figure is 70 percent. the objective regarding construction anddemolition waste requires the implementationby 2020 of measures aimed at ensuringthat the preparation for reuse and materialrecycling and other material utilisationof non-hazardous construction and demolitionwaste is at least 70 percent in weight.35
SwediSh waSte management 2012aBout avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – SwediSh waSte managementavfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste management is the<strong>Swedish</strong> trade organization within the waste managementand recycling sector. our members are municipalitiesand municipal enterprises and we have anumber of private companies as associated members.in total we have approximately 400 members.our primary task is to represent and develop ourmembers by creating networks, providing informationand influencing decision-makers.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s objective is to promote the developmentof green, sustainable waste managementwith a clear social responsibility.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong>’s vision is “zero waste”. concretegoals are to break the relationship between wasteand growth and to achieve clear, strong upwardmovement in the waste hierarchy. municipalities arethe engine for achieving the 2020 targets and forattaining our long-term vision. the municipalities arealso the guarantors of long-term sustainable wastemanagement for the common good and for Sweden’sinhabitants.avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> – <strong>Swedish</strong> waste managementlooks after the interests of its members in wastemanagement, a task which encompasses separation,collection, recycling, waste disposal, and byhandling issues regarding administration, economy,information, planning, training and development.we are Sweden’s largest environmental movement.it is our members who ensure that <strong>Swedish</strong>waste management works well at all stages fromcollection to recycling.we work for the common good: environmentallysafe, sustainable and for the long-term. we have15,000 people working alongside <strong>Swedish</strong> householdsand companies. together we perform one ofSweden’s most important jobs.adminiStrative officeWEInE WIqvISTmanaging directordirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 05mobile no. +46 (0)708 93 15 99weine.wiqvist@avfallsverige.seAnnA-CARIn gRIPWALLdirector of communicationdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 08mobile no. +46 (0)70 662 61 28anna-carin.gripwall@avfallsverige.seSvEn LundgREnlegal advisordirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 09mobile no. +46 (0)708 35 66 55sven.lundgren@avfallsverige.seIngEgERd SvAnTESSonPublic relations officer, webmasterdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 07mobile no. +46 (0)705 35 66 37ingegerd.svantesson@avfallsverige.seAngELIKA BLoMadvisory consultant for biologicaltreatment: composting andanaerobic digestiondirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 23mobile no. +46 (0)70 622 00 63angelika.blom@avfallsverige.seJESSICA CHRISTIAnSEnutbildningschefadvisory consultant for hazardouswaste and weeedirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 18mobile no. +46 (0)706 69 36 18jessica.christiansen@avfallsverige.sePETER FLyHAMMARadvisory consultant for landfill andwaste-to-energydirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 24mobile no. +46 (0)709 49 49 57peter.flyhammar@avfallsverige.seKARIn JönSSoneditor of ‘avfall och miljö’ andwww.sopor.nudirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 17karin.jonsson@avfallsverige.seEWA KovERMAnfinance assistant, invoicingdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 04ewa.koverman@avfallsverige.sePETRA KvIST CARLSSoncourse managerdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 03mobile no. +46 (0)708 81 96 36petra.carlsson@avfallsverige.seHåKAn LARSSonadvisory consultant for public affairs.mobile no. +46 (0)705 35 66 42hakan.larsson@avfallsverige.seBRITTA MouTAKISassistant advisory consultant, headof the avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> yngre networkdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 14mobile no. +46 (0)703 58 66 14britta.moutakis@avfallsverige.seJon nILSSon-dJERFadvisor for material recovery, collectionand transport.mobile no. +46 (0)70 526 35 27jon.nilsson-djerf@avfallsverige.sePER nILzénavfall <strong>Sverige</strong> developmentdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 13mobile no. +46 (0)70 523 24 04per.nilzen@avfallsverige.seJAKoB SAHLénadvisory consultant forwaste-to-energydirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 16jakob.sahlén@avfallsverige.sePERnILLA SvEnSSoncourse administratordirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 11pernilla.svensson@avfallsverige.seJEnny WESTInadvisory consultant for statistics,procurement and waste tariffsdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 15mobile no. +46 (0)70 518 40 45jenny.westin@avfallsverige.sePETER WESTLIngadministration directordirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 06peter.westling@avfallsverige.seJEnny åSTRöMProject Manager Exportdirect line: +46 (0)40 35 66 12jenny.astrom@avfallsverige.se37
SwediSh waSte management 2012adresstelefonfaxe-posthemsida©avfall <strong>Sverige</strong> aBProstgatan 2, Se- 211 25 malmö+46 40 35 66 00+46 40 35 66 26info@avfallsverige.sewww.avfallsverige.seform Peter forS nor - ingela hanSSon/ trademark malmÖ a B foto a ndré de l oiS ted38