Sorting and recycling waste
The environment requirements stipulated by EU and the Swedish Parliament have increased, and households are becoming increasingly better with regard to the sorting of refuse. Accordingly, most of the waste that is generated today is recycled and utilised in different ways.
Collection of hazardous waste
The absolutely most important part of today’s handling of waste is that hazardous waste is taken care of. The resulting benefit to the environment is considerable, because the incorrect handling of hazardous waste can have serious consequences. If hazardous waste is deposited in the wrong place it can result in major environmental problems.
Vafabmiljö receive considerable amounts of hazardous waste from households via the Recycling Centers. We can deal with some of the waste that is classified as hazardous ourselves, eg, oil polluted soil and oil polluted water.
Energy saving
Other environment improvements are the saving in energy that recycling creates. When recycled material is used in the manufacturing of various products, less energy is most often consumed compared to using new raw material. This saving in energy means that the emission of various substances that are detrimental to the environment is lower for most recyclable material. Furthermore, recycling contributes to saving the earth’s resources.
Sorting and recycling: foodwaste, packaging, garden waste, residual waste
Foodwaste are deposited as biomass at the Biogas plant in Västerås where it is converted into biogas for motor vehicles and into biofertilizer. Residual waste, wood and non-rigid plastic, is converted into heat and electric power in environment approved incinerators.
Household waste
- Bio-waste eg, food waste, coffee grounds. Is decomposed together with ley crops in the biogas plant, becoming fuel for motor vehicles and a residual digested sludge that is used as fertilizer in the fields.
From 1 January 2024 it becomes mandatory for both households and businesses to separate their food waste from residual waste. - Residual waste eg, nappies, dishcloths, discarded toys. Deposited for incineration and energy recovery.
Packaging collection
- Newspapers/Waste paper is sorted manually. The various grades of waste paper are utilised in the manufacturing of new paper of different grades.
- Paper packages eg, milk cartons. Utilised in the manufacturing of the paper surface on gypsum wallboard, and for new packaging.
- Metal packages eg, spray cans, tin cans. Are machine sorted into different kinds of metal. Steel goes to the smelting plant and is eventually turned into engine parts, reinforcement bars, etc. Aluminium is also recycled.
- Rigid-plastic packages eg, ketchup bottles. Are sorted manually. Granulated and sold to the recycling industry; for example to become sleighs, fencing, compost bins, pipes, etc.
- Non-rigid plastic packages eg, plastic bags. Deposited for incineration and energy recovery.
- Glass packages eg, glass jars. Becomes new glass, insulation (glass wool) and is mixed in concrete.
Recycling Centers
- Wood eg, planks. Crushed and deposited for incineration and energy recovery.
- Metal scrap eg, bicycles. Fragmented and separated in different material for recycling at smelting works.
- Garden refuse. Cut up and composted together with farmyard manure. Becomes useful planting soil, eg, in parks.
- Corrugated cardboard, corrugated board boxes. Forwarded for the manufacturing of new cardboard.
- Electronics eg, computers. Dismantled and certain parts are recycled. Components that are detrimental to the environment are taken charge of and neutralised.
- Refrigerators and deep freezers. Freon is recovered from the refrigeration circuit, and insulation material is taken charge of and neutralised. Metal and plastic material is recycled.
- Hazardous waste eg, waste oil, paint. Oil is forwarded for reprocessing into heating oil. Remains of paint and PCB waste, etc, are forwarded for destruction.
- Pressure-impregnated wood is hazardous waste and is forwarded to Fortum Waste Solutions.
- Wallpaper, roofing felt and rubber eg, wallpapers, leather, rubber tire for bicycle. Deposited for incineration and energy recovery.
- Gypsum eg, gypsum wallboard. Can be recycled into new gypsum wallboard.
- Insulation and glas eg, fibre-glass insulation, mirror glass. Is deposited on the landfill.
