The Swedish Waste Management System
Part 1
Sweden
Avfall Sverige – Swedish Waste Management
Sweden
 9,4 million inhabitants
 450 000 km2
Avfall Sverige – Swedish Waste Management
 An organisation in the Waste Management and Recycling Sector
 400 members, primarily within the public sector, but also private
enterprises
 Through our members, we represent 99,9 % of the Swedish population
 Our primary task is to represent and develop members by
• creating networks,
• providing information and training,
• and influencing decision-makers
 Member of Cewep, ECN, ISWA and Municipal Waste Europe
Avfall Sverige – Swedish Waste Management
Our members
•are responsible for municipal waste management
•provide services for other waste categories
•represent an important part of the infrastructure in the society
 We – together - are aiming towards an environmentally
correct and sustainable waste management, for the benefit of
society
Part 2
Waste – a Resource
The Development
Responsibilities
Operations
Waste - a resource
Treatment of household waste in Sweden, 2011 (%)
Landfill
Energy recovery
Biological treatment
Recycling (material)
Waste hierarchy
Unique results
100
90
80
70
60
Recycling (material)
50
Biological treatment
40
Energy recovery
Landfill
30
20
10
0
Sweden 2010
EU 2010
USA 2010
The development
Important steps of development
 Late 1800:
Cholera-epidemic - start of
municipal waste management
 1950’s:
District heating systems developed
 1970’s and 80’s:
Oil crises - waste is being used for
district heating
Important steps of development
Household waste to landfill per year (tonnes)
1600000
1400000
Landfill tax
introduced
1200000
1000000
Ban on landfill of
combustible waste
Producers’ responsibility
introduced
800000
600000
Ban on landfill of
organic waste and national
target on food waste
Municipal
waste
planning
compulsory
400000
200000
On-going
national
overview
2010
2005
2000
1995
1990
0
Clear division of responsibilities
Municipalities:
• Collection and treatment of
municipal waste
• Information to households
Producers:
• Collection and treatment
of waste within the
Producers Responsibility
Parliament/Government
Supervisory Authorities
Waste generator:
• Citizens/households: Separation and leave/transport
waste at indicated collection points
• Companies/Industries: Handling of own generated
waste
Authorities and agencies
National level



Parliament
 National environmental targets
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
 National waste plan
 Produces national legislation and guidelines
National environmental courts (5 plus one superior):
 Gives permissions to larger treatment plants
Regional level

County Administrative Board - government authority (21 counties):
 Regional environmental targets
 Permissions and control for most treatment plants
 Supervision of the regional treatment capacity
Municipal level

Municipal authorithies:
 Local enviroenmental targets
 Local waste plans and regulations
 Permissions and control of smaller treatment plants
Operations
Municipalities deal with their responsibility in different ways and design
their own waste management organisation
Administration:
 Almost 50% have formed municipal waste
management companies
Collection of municipal waste:
 30% inhouse operation
 70% contract to private operators
Treatment of municipal waste:
 35% inhouse operation
 65% contract to other operators, mainly municipally owned
Co-operation
Co-operation – the solution to an
increasingly complex waste
management:
• Optimizing environmental and
social benifit
• Handle the waste in a costeffecient way
• Securing competence
Part 3
Overview Model
Infrastructure
Collection
Recovery and Recycling
Overview model
Housholds or
companies
Waste prevention
New products:
Biogas, new materials,
district heating,
electricity, bio-fertilizer
Collection and transport
Recycling stations
Recycling centers
Curbside collection
Materialrecycling
Biological recycling
Energy recovery
Landfill
Public awarness - a success factor
Key messages and tools for motivation and
to facilitate collaboration:
– Communication
– Development of self instructive systems
– Feed back of the results and that ”what I do
matters”
– Emphasize on the waste holders
responsibility and participation
Waste prevention in Sweden
 99 % material recycling or energy recovery today 
more focus on waste prevention
 Information, knowledge and behaviour success factors
 Long tradition of reuse through flymarkets, second hand,
collection at recycling parks, etc
 Largest challenge: decoupling between generated waste
and economic growth
Generated household waste in Sweden is predicted to double 2010-2030
(Swedish EPA)
Generated waste world wide is predicted to rise with 72 % 2010-2025
(What a Waste-A global review of Solid Waste Management, mars 2012, World Bank Group)
Infrastructure
Collection of waste from households
based on source separation
 Curb side collection
 630 manned drop-off recycling centers
 5 800 unmanned recycling drop-off
stations
Treatment and recycling of waste
based on the charcter of the waste
 58 organic waste facilities
 32 waste to energy plants
 79 landfills
Recycling centers
Recycling and treatment
Different treatment methods depending on the character of the waste,
makes it possible to use the waste as a resource
Materials
New products
Food waste
Biogas
Biofertilizer
Combustible waste
District heating
Electricity
Production of biogas and bio-fertilizer
 The most increasing treatment
method
 Energy recovery by the
production of biogas used as a
vehicle-fuel
 Recycling of nutritions to
farming-land by the production
of bio-fertilizer
 Source separation and quality
assurance key words
During 2011, 322 GWh vehicle-fuel was
produced from foodwaste replacing about
30 millions liters of petrol. 600,000 tonnes
fertilizer is replaced with biofertilizer yearly
in Sweden.
Generation of district heating and electricity
 Covers around 20 % of the total
district heating in Sweden, equals
the needs of 900 000 homes
 Produces electricity
corresponding to the needs of
250 000 homes
 Advanced and secure flue gas
treatment
 Most of the rest-products can be
recycled
Total energy production 2011:
District heating: 13,5 TWh
Electricity: 2 TWh
(including industral waste)
Efficient and clean waste incineration
From landfills to modern recycling facilities
(Illustrator: Per Josefsson)
An integrated part of a holistic system
Products
Households
Material
recycling
Farms
Sewage water
cleaning
Biosolids
Waste
Anaerobic
digestion
Vehicle fuel
Landfill
Incineration
Biogas
Other fuels
Cooling/ heating
production
Electricity
production
Part 4
Waste Economy
Means of Control
Success Factors
Vision and Long Term Goals
Waste economy
Municipal waste:
 All costs covered by
municipal waste fees (not
by taxes)
 Tariffs decided by each
municipal board
 Non-profit
 Allowed to be differentiated
to encourage source
separation for recycling
Municipal waste within
producers’ responsibility:
 Costs covered by a
fee added to the price
of every product
Waste fee
Average yearly fee per
household 2011:
• Houses: 240 EUR
• Flats: 150 EUR
Average daily fee
per household
Costs for municipal waste management
Administration
and information
14%
Curb side
collection, bulky
waste
1%
Recycling
centers,
including
hazardous waste
28%
Others
4%
Curb side
collection,
residual waste
31%
Treatment,
residual waste
22%
Cost for municipal waste management, 2010, average
Means of control
 Environmental objectives
 Government regulations, bans, and taxes, for
example:
 Tax on landfilling (since 2000)
 Ban on landfilling of combustible waste since 2002
 Ban on landfilling of organic waste since 2005
 Differentiated municipal waste tariffs
 Municipal waste planning
and regulations
 Information and
communication
Important success factors
 Waste management is a public service
 Clear division of roles and
responsibilities enable necessary
investments
 Clear national environmental targets
showing the direction
 Long-term regulations and economical
steering instruments
 Co-operation between municipalities
 Co-operation within municipalites
(Waste-, Energy-, Water-, Urbanplanning-, etc departements)
 Collaboration between public and
private sectors
 Focus on communication and public
engagement
Avfall Sverige’s vision
Zero waste!
Long-term goals until 2020:
 Decoupling between generated waste and
economic growth
Economic
growth
 Strong upward movement in waste
hierarchy
Generated
waste
BN
P
Part 5
Waste Management on Export
– A new Swedish Platform
Aim with the new platform
To facilitate the export of
 Swedish knowledge about
waste management,
 products and services within
the waste sector,
through cooperation among
municipalities, municipal
companies and the private sector.
A strategy based on cooperation
Swedish waste management
- municipalities
- municipal companies
- private companies (technology suppliers and knowledge suppliers)
One strong platform with a unique combination of competences
What we are doing
 Defining offers to form a product catalogue
 Making an inventory of resources matching the offers
 Developing business models for
co-operation between municipalities
and companies in order to be able to
form the strongest offer
 Preparing a routine for canalize and
asset incoming requests
 Taking part in pilot projects in different countries to be able to
further develop our models and routines
Offers
Questions
1.
2.
Matching offers
”How do we find the form/organisation to
achieve what we want with our waste
management system?”
Management on local, regional
and cluster level:
”How should we form our waste
management system on an overview
level?”
Waste management in
sustainable urban
development:
Co-operation, organization, waste economy,
waste fee construction, etc
System design, waste planning, solutions for
collection- and sorting systems
3.
”We are in the need of treatment capacity,
but we do not have the funds or time to
prioritize to build up all capacity right now”
Providing treatment capacity
(incluing solutions for logistics)
as a transfer solution.
Offers
Questions
4.
”We know what we want to build,
but we need support in setting up
the plant/facility.”
Matching offers
 Setting up different waste
facilities: Financing possibilities,
feasibility studies, procurement,
construction, etc
5.
”We have got a plant/ facility. But
we want to improve in running
and maintain it, and get the most
out of it.”
 Operation, support and
optimization of different
waste facilities
6.
”We want to reach the public, the
decision makers or other
stakeholders with our message.”
 Communication and
campaigns (raise
awareness)
7.
”We want to train our personnel.”
 Training courses overseas
or in Sweden, offer
internship possibilities.
Swedish Waste Management on Export
Contact and information
Project leader:
Jenny Åström
jenny.astrom@avfallsverige.se
+46-70-5136612
Working group chair:
Thomas Nylund
thomas.nylund@gastrikeatervinnare.se
+46-26-178489
avfallsverige.se/in-english/wastemanagement-on-export/