Filmtext

Filmtext: Swedish waste disposal – a love story

Howe come Sweden has no "waste mountins"? Sweden has producer responsibility. This means that companies in certain sectors have an obligation to fund the recykling of their products when these become waste. Producer responsibility applies to eight product groups:

  • Batteries
  • Cars
  • Tyres
  • Electrical and electronic equipment
  • Packaging
  • Waste paper
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Radioactive products

Consumers also have a great responsibility. Society expects all citizens to source separate to enable recykling of the materials.

Sweden has a comprehensive deposit refund system for beverage containers. Leave your soda cans att the local grocery store and get cash in return.

There is an acceptance among citizens to pay for waste disposal. When product become waste, they are brought to recykling stations by the consumers.

Second-hand stores often collect products at the station for re-use. Products are otherwise seperated by material so valuable material can be recovered. Organic waste is turned into biogas.

Combustible waste that cannot be recovered in any other way is incinerated and become district heating as well as elctricity. But Sweden is not perfect. It must reduce its consumption to cut waste – like all countries.