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1. Waste management
Prevention of waste
Our production and consumption lead to large quantities of waste. An
important element in work on eco‐cycles is therefore sustainable waste
management. Articles that circulate in society contain large quantities of
different materials. Many are energy‐demanding to produce and contain
substances that exist in limited quantities. It is therefore necessary that we
manage joint resources in a long‐term manner to achieve sustainable cycles
in society. Many articles additionally contain substances that are toxic or
hazardous and should not be released into the environment. This
necessitates phasing out the most harmful substances and handling
correctly those substances that continue to be used. There is a eco‐cycle
strategy in Sweden linked to the Swedish environmental objectives. The
strategy is aimed at bringing about a society with non‐toxic and resourceefficient
cycles. This includes prevention of waste, changed patterns of
consumption, more efficient production methods and waste management
with a greater focus on recycling. The natural cycle strategy looks at
materials and products throughout their lifecycle in order to provide as
complete a picture as possible of their environmental impact.
Consumption of energy for a product also has to be weighed into the
assessment. Sweden considers it necessary for the volume of waste to
decrease if we are to come close to sustainable management of waste.
Producers must already take account of a product?s environmental impact
in a lifecycle perspective when it is manufactured. Design and material
selection, as well as energy consumption in manufacturing and use must be
taken into account. In addition, sustainable cycles can only be achieved if a
greater proportion of waste can be reused and recycled. This saves both
materials and energy, while also reducing the use of hazardous chemicals
and environmental problems in waste management. One aspect of this
work is focusing on issues relating to chemicals in articles within SAICM.
Reduced landfilling of waste together with increased sustainable
recycling of waste
Waste can be both a resource and an environmental problem. Sweden
considers that waste management that works poorly involves considerable
wastage of valuable material and can lead to environmental and health
problems. In cases where waste management does not work, this can lead
to problems related to sanitation and health, as well as soil and water
pollution.
The aim as far as possible is to make use of the resources contained in
waste. At the same time, it is important to reduce adverse effects in the
form of emissions of methane gas from landfills and carbon dioxide from
combustion, as well as emissions of heavy metals and organic
environmental pollutants. There is a hierarchy for how waste is to be
managed in EU legislation. This primarily means that we have to try to
produce as little and as non‐hazardous waste as possible. Material
recycling is prioritised over energy recycling for waste that nevertheless
arises, where this is environmentally justified. The waste ultimately has to
be disposed of by landfilling. There are no obvious answers as to what
method is preferable for all types of waste in choosing material recovery
and incineration. Several analyses generally support material recovery that
lets materials and nutrients enter a cycle. Sweden considers the waste
hierarchy to represent a good starting point for achieving sustainable waste
management.
An all‐embracing perspective on the area of waste is required to attain
sustainable waste management. Various measures that reduce the volumes
of waste and control waste streams according to the hierarchy for different
methods of treatment are required. The key is to increase the material
recovery of waste. Recycled raw material saves energy compared with the
use of new raw material, in addition to which material recycling often leads
to lower emissions than other methods of treatment. When producers start
to recover material a valuable link also arises to environmentally oriented
product development in order to improve the efficiency of manufacturing.
Several measures have been taken to promote biological treatment, in part
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and be able to make use
of the plant nutrients contained in food waste. The ban on landfilling
organic waste and the targets for increased biological treatment of food
waste and for waste from the food industry have been most effective.
Transboundary movements of waste under the Basel Convention
The Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is a global convention that was
adopted in 1989 and came into force in 1992. The fundamental purpose of
the Convention is to protect human health and the environment against
harm that can be caused by movements and disposal of hazardous waste
and other waste. The Convention regulates transboundary movements of
waste, and the parties to the Convention have undertaken to manage
hazardous waste and other waste in an environmentally correct manner.
Sweden considers it important to comply with the rules in the Basel
Convention and the amendment banning exports of hazardous waste from
OECD countries to non‐OECD countries (ban amendment) in order to
reduce the negative aspects of transboundary movements of waste. As a
consequence of the question of when an end‐of‐life product is to be
classified as waste, problems in relation to transboundary movements have
arisen in particular with regard to electronics, cars, refrigerators and also
end‐of‐life ships. The problems associated with these movements are that
large quantities of hazardous waste accumulate in countries that do not
have the capacity or knowledge to deal with waste in an environmentally
correct way. This can lead to risks to the environment and human health in
these countries. Sweden views this problem as serious and welcomes the
initiatives taken under the Basel Convention to discuss solutions.
Safe management of hazardous waste
Sweden considers an important element of the work of guiding waste
management in the direction of sustainability to be reducing the amount
of hazardous waste. Substances that pose a health hazard or are harmful in
some other way must be removed from the cycle. Incorrect management of
hazardous waste can pose a great risk of harm to humans and the
environment. It is therefore important not to mix it with other waste but to
present it separately to professional waste receivers. Some of the
characteristics that distinguish hazardous waste are that it may be toxic,
carcinogenic, corrosive, harmful to the foetus, ecotoxic, infectious or
combustible. The hazardous substances in hazardous waste must not be
dispersed in nature or be allowed to be re‐introduced into the cycle of
society. Examples of such hazardous substances are heavy metals such as
mercury, lead and cadmium and stable organic compounds such as PCBs
and dioxins. Sweden therefore considers it self‐evident from the
environmental point of views that hazardous waste has to be kept separate
from other types of waste as far as possible and that separation at source of
generation is necessary in this context. Only then can the hazardous
substances be separated out and dealt with in the best possible way from
the points of view of the environment and health. Waste that is not
separated at source of generation must as far as possible be separated at
the next link in the chain, in order to avoid diffuse dispersal of hazardous
substances contained in waste.
2. Waste management
Prevention and minimisation and environmentally sound
management of hazardous wastes
Policy measures for the prevention and minimisation of hazardous
wastes
The Swedish view has been that the volume and hazardousness of waste
can only be influenced to a limited degree by measures taken at the waste
stage. Measures to reduce the hazardousness and volume of waste should
be primarily taken as part of work on products and chemicals. An
important condition to be met to enable the risks to be reduced at the
waste stage is that the actors concerned are aware which substances can be
hazardous to the environment and health and which of these hazardous
substances are contained in the articles they manufacture, handle or buy.
The sharply increased turnover of consumer goods with broader ranges of
similar products and products with a shorter life, are important factors for
example in the problems associated with electronic waste that contains
hazardous chemical substances. Clothing is another example of articles
with a short life, large quantities going to general waste management. The
most effective way of reducing chemical risks is to take action at the start
of a chain of production and handling, as all later stages, including the
waste stage, are affected. The flow of information in production and
handling chains is, however, often inadequate, and there are several factors
underlying this. The chains of production and trade for articles are often
long and can pass through several different countries. There are trading
companies here that are not manufacturers of either chemicals or articles
and only market and trade in articles. It can therefore be difficult for a
purchaser in Sweden to trace back and obtain answers to questions about
production methods in many supplier links. Work to improve access to
information about the substances in articles, for example by introducing
information requirements, therefore needs to be pursued at international
level.
Sweden?s efforts to reduce the hazardousness of waste by limiting the use
of substances of very high concern leads to products that affect human
health or the environment in a less harmful way throughout their lifecycle.
Another instrument is the product choice rule in the Environmental Code
(Chapter 2 Section 4), which states that anyone who undertakes or intends
to undertake an activity has to avoid using chemical products or
biotechnical organisms that may be feared to pose risks to human health or
the environment, if they can be replaced by such products or organisms as
may be assumed to be less hazardous. The same requirement applies to
goods that contain or are treated with a chemical product or biotechnical
organism.
A large and growing waste stream consists of waste from electrical and
electronic products. The turnover of new products is rapid. Some of the
products, for example computers and television sets, become hazardous
waste when they are discarded, and control of the route this waste takes is
often deficient or difficult to implement. An important measure would be
to make sure at the time of manufacturing that as little hazardous material
as possible is used and additionally to make the products easy to
dismantle. The RoHS Directive regulating the use of certain substances in
electrical and electronic products is a particularly important instrument in
this respect.
In addition, Sweden has taken active steps to reduce the hazardousness of
waste through its efforts to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals
internationally. This is discussed in more detail in the section on
chemicals.
Transfer of environmentally sound technologies and know‐how on
clean technologies and low‐waste production
Waste management and recycling is the largest field in the environmental
technology sector. This is also where the largest increases in turnover and
exports are to be found. In 2007 turnover was nearly SEK 50bn, an increase
of 24% on 2006. Exports in the same year totalled nearly SEK 11bn, an
increase of 29% compared with 2006. Information is lacking on technology
transfer regarding hazardous waste and methods to limit the creation,
hazardousness or treatment of hazardous waste.
Initiatives to treat, recycle, reuse and dispose of wastes at the source
of generation and regulatory mechanisms (Polluter‐pays principle)
Swedish environmental law contains overarching rules on consideration
and the principles to apply to all activity that has an impact on the
environment or human health. Among these is the requirement that a
person who pursues an activity or takes a measure has to be economical
with raw materials and energy and utilise the opportunities for reuse and
recycling. Renewable energy sources are primarily to be used.
Producer responsibility for products that become hazardous waste at the
waste stage applies to electrical and electronic products, cars and batteries.
The purpose of collecting electrical waste is to prevent hazardous
substances ending up in the wrong place. Producer responsibility is
formulated so that those who manufacture electronics or import
electronics into Sweden bear responsibility for collection and disposal.
Importers and manufacturers have to ensure that there is collection in all
municipalities for those electrical products that are usually used in
households. They have to bear the cost of recycling and treatment, while
the municipality is responsible for the manning of recycling centres. The
producers have to manufacture products that contain less environmentally
hazardous components and that are easier to recycle and treat. In 2006 the
quantity of electrical waste collected per head of population was 16 kg,
which is a very good result in comparison with other EU Member States.
The target in the EU Directive on producer responsibility for electrical and
electronic products is 4 kg per head of population. The purpose of
producer responsibility for cars is to:
? reduce emissions of environmentally hazardous liquids, products and
refrigerants from end‐of‐life vehicles
? increase the recycling of metals, plastics, rubber, textiles etc. from end‐ofuse
vehicles,
? increase the recycling of components from end‐of‐life vehicles and
? reduce the volume of waste from end‐of‐life vehicles sent to landfill
A producer has to take an end‐of‐life vehicle without payment, has to make
it easy for people wishing to hand over end‐of‐life vehicles to the producer
to do so and is obliged to ensure that the car is disposed of by an
authorised vehicle scrapper. The car producer is responsible for the
satisfactory working of the system to reuse and recycle cars. This
responsibility includes reporting, guidance and fulfilling the reuse and
recycling targets. A producer has to ensure that at least 85% of the weight
of the car be reused or recycled. The target for 2015 is that at least 95% of
the car?s weight is reused or recycled. In 2006 the proportion of the weight
of scrapped cars reused or recycled was 86%, which means that the target
set has been achieved.
On 1 January 2009 producer responsibility for batteries was introduced in
Sweden as a consequence of an EU Directive. The producer?s responsibility
is to ensure that batteries are collected, disposed of and recycled in an
environmentally acceptable way. The producer is whoever first places a
battery on the Swedish market by commercially supplying a battery. Spent
batteries have been separately collected in Sweden since the 1980s. A new
development in this context is that all batteries have to be collected and
recycled, including non‐environmentally hazardous ones that were
previously sent to landfill. As producer responsibility for batteries has been
introduced so recently, there are no figures on results achieved.
Procedures for environmental impact assessment, taking into
account the cradle‐to‐grave approach
Material‐flow analyses provide a basis for being able to follow the impact of
different substances from cradle to grave. Material‐flow analyses provide
knowledge on hazardous substances introduced into society through
products. It is then possible to judge whether these hazardous substances
reach the waste stage on the basis of knowledge of the life of different
articles.
Statistics Sweden is developing statistics on material flows. Among other
things it will be studying the flow of lead in more detail. Basic studies of
the flows of a number of heavy metals in society have been carried out
previously, for instance in the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's
research programme ?Metals in Town and Country?.
The ?Articles Guide? (Varuguiden) being developed by the Swedish
Chemicals Agency is another example of a system for gathering
information on hazardous substances in articles.
Recovery, reuse and recycling of hazardous wastes and their
transformation into useful material
In 2006 around 33% of the total volume of hazardous waste arising was
treated by material recovery. The predominant types of waste include
contaminated soils used as construction material after treatment, batteries
sent for recovery of metals, discarded equipment sent for remelting, for
example in copper smeltworks and waste from incineration used as
construction material. Another good example of the transformation of
hazardous waste into a useful product is the regeneration of waste oil to
obtain new base oil. Under the EU waste directive, waste oil is primarily to
be regenerated if it is possible to do so according to the waste hierarchy in
consideration of technical, economic and organisational constraints.
Sweden does not have its own facility for the regeneration of waste oil, but
exports waste oil to another EU Member State. This processing of Swedish
waste oil has increased steadily in recent years from around 1,400 tonnes in
2001 to around 25,000 tonnes in 2007.
Phase‐out of toxic, persistent and bio‐accumulative waste
Sweden has been successful to date in its efforts to phase out the use of
mercury, and is well advanced in an international comparison. In the early
1990s instruments and electrical components containing mercury were
banned, and an export ban was introduced for mercury and chemical
compounds and preparations containing mercury. Sweden was early in
introducing restrictions on the level of mercury of batteries.
On 15 January 2009 the Government decided on a general ban on mercury,
as well as articles containing mercury, to come into effect on 1 June 2009.
The ban means that mercury, mercury compounds and preparations may
not be placed on the Swedish market, used in Sweden or commercially
exported from Sweden. Articles containing mercury may not be placed on
the Swedish market or professionally exported from Sweden. The ban on
use does not apply to articles containing mercury if the articles have
already been used for the first time. On the other hand, the article may not
be transferred elsewhere, i.e. placed on the market or exported form
Sweden. Nor may it be topped up with new mercury.
Mercury fallout over Sweden is principally due to long‐range
transportation by air from the rest of Europe, but also from other parts of
the world. Despite mercury fallout having decreased in Sweden in recent
decades, this is not sufficient to prevent an increase in mercury levels in
the environment. Levels are, for example, increasing by around 0.5 per cent
annually in the top layer of forest soil. The Swedish Environmental
Protection Agency estimates that mercury fallout needs to decrease by 80
per cent if levels in fish that do not exceed the WHO/FAO limit of 0.5 mg
mercury/kg fish are to be achieved in the longer term.
The largest source of mercury emissions to air globally is the burning of
coal. Other emission sources include, for example, smeltworks, crematoria
(amalgam fillings) and waste incineration (mercury in products).
Mercury is also dispersed directly to soil and water for example through
emissions from industrial sites, leaching from rubbish tips and through the
spreading of sewage sludge. Sweden was early with programmes for the
phase‐out of PCBs. A start was made in the early 1970s on this phase‐out,
which comprises requirements for inventories, decontamination,
restrictions on or prohibitions of PCBs in transformers, capacitors, PCB
products in building such as sealant, flooring compounds, sealed glazing
units and other products that may contain PCBs, such as cables. PCB levels
in the environment have previously decreased but are no longer doing so.
Following EU decisions on bans or restrictions for certain chemical
substances, Sweden has implemented these bans in its own legislation. The
bans or restrictions relate for instance to cadmium substances, chlorinated
solvents, heavy metals in packaging materials, ammunition containing lead
and textile detergents containing phosphates. In addition, as indicated
above there has been a ban since 1 July 2006 on manufacturing electrical
products containing mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium and
the flame retardants PBB and PBDE.
Environmentally sound waste disposal and treatment
Waste can be both a resource and an environmental problem. Waste
management that works poorly signifies great wastage of valuable material
and can also lead to environmental and health problems. The aim as far as
possible is to make use of the resources contained in waste. At the same
time, it is important to reduce adverse effects in the form of emissions of
methane gas from landfills and carbon dioxide from combustion, as well
emissions of heavy metals and organic environmental toxins. There is a
hierarchy for the management of waste. This primarily means that we have
to try to produce as little and as non‐hazardous waste as possible. Material
recycling is prioritised over energy recycling for waste that nevertheless
arises, where this is environmentally justified. The waste ultimately has to
be disposed of by landfilling. There are no obvious answers as to what
method is preferable for all types of waste in the choice between material
recycling and incineration. Several analyses generally support material
recovery that causes materials and nutrients to enter a cycle.
An important element in efforts to deal with waste is a clear consumer
perspective. It must be simple for households to separate and hand over
their waste so that the proportion of waste that is recycled is increased.
Information on the purpose and benefit of household participation is also
important. An overarching change that is required if we are to approach
ecological management of waste is a reduction in the volume of waste and
its hazardousness. This cannot be attained just through measures at the
waste stage and is largely dependent on a change in the production and
consumption of articles. Volumes of waste today are increasing in line with
economic growth. A fundamental requirement to enable the goal of
sustainable cycles to be achieved is more resource‐efficient production and
consumption that breaks this relationship. Companies that design and
manufacture products have great responsibility for reviewing the
environmental impact of their products throughout their lifecycles, using
more recovered material and thinking about the future recycling of their
products. Consumers also have an important role to play in the choice of
products and how to use them.
Inventories of hazardous waste production, their treatment/disposal,
and contaminated sites
Nearly 2.8 million tonnes of hazardous waste accrued in 2006, according to
Report 5868 Waste in Sweden 2006 produced by Svenska
MiljöEmissionsData (SMED) on behalf of the Swedish Environmental
Protection Agency. The largest categories of waste were hazardous mineral
waste, 480,000 tonnes (including PAH asphalt), end‐of‐life vehicles,
470,000 tonnes, contaminated soil and dredging material, 435,00 tonnes,
chemical residues and deposits, 300,000 tonnes, and hazardous waste from
incineration, 300,000 tonnes. The sectors that generated most hazardous
waste were building and households. The volume in the building sector is
890,000 tonnes, of which contaminated soil and dredging material
accounts for 400,000 tonnes and hazardous mineral waste (mostly PAH
asphalt) 460,000 tonnes. Households accounted for 489,000 tonnes of
hazardous waste. The greater part of this was 305,000 tonnes of end‐of‐life
vehicles and 139,000 tonnes of discarded equipment (mainly electrical
scrap) classified as hazardous waste. Other sectors that generated large
quantities of hazardous waste were:
? production of metal and metal products, 340,000 tonnes
? supply of gas, steam, hot water and heating, 190,000 tonnes
? manufacturing of chemicals, rubber and plastic, 111 000 tonnes.
According to study, approximately 1 million tonnes of hazardous waste was
treated. The remaining volume of hazardous waste was treated in such a
way that it is not included in the actual report or consists of a type of waste
that is not included in the reporting with regard to treatment, for example
end‐of‐life vehicles. Of the treated waste, 33% or 339,000 tonnes went for
recycling. A large proportion of the recycling consists of the treatment of
uncontaminated soil, waste from incineration and mineral waste which
after any pre‐treatment is used as construction material or as material to
cap landfills.
Around 312,000 tonnes of hazardous waste was incinerated: 209,000 tonnes
as energy recovery (R1) and 103,000 tonnes as disposal (D10), although
energy is also extracted in that case. Around 378,000 tonnes of hazardous
waste was landfilled. This was largely made up of waste from incineration
(including filter dust from metal smelting), contaminated soil and sewage
sludge from industrial sites (including metal hydroxide sludge).
The total quantities of hazardous waste have apparently increased in recent
years. The increase has probably not been as great it may appear as
different methods and limitations have been applied in the collection of
statistics in the most recent surveys and the results are thus not
comparable.
More than 80,000 sites have been identified as potentially contaminated.
Work to determine and estimate the number of contaminated sites in the
country takes place in several stages and is mainly done by the county
administrative boards. The identification of contaminated sites is
considered to be more or less complete, as the number of identified
potentially contaminated sites has been relatively constant in recent years.
New locations may be discovered while work on contaminated sites is in
progress. An identified potentially contaminated site need not be polluted
in practice or need remedial action. The number of actually contaminated
sites is thus probably lower than the number of identified sites. Of the
identified sites, it is estimated that 1,500 could pose very great risks to
human health and the environment (risk class 1) and around 15,000 great
risks (risk class 2). It is primarily these sites that must be investigated for
remediation.
It is stated in the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency?s report
?Lägesbeskrivning av efterbehandlingsarbetet i landet 2008? (?Status report on
remediation work in Sweden in 2008?) (M2009/760/Kk) that by 31 August 2008 a
total of 1,010 sites had been remediated and closed, of which around 30 with
grants and around 980 sites at the operator's expense through supervisory
activity. Another approximately 220 sites had been remediated, but followup
was still in progress. Twenty‐eight of the sites were grant‐funded
locations and 193 were locations subject to supervision. Locations subject
to supervision mean contaminated sites with a known wholly or partially
responsible operator, and grant‐funded locations mean sites with a
responsible operator who is unknown or who no longer exists. In addition,
partial measures are in progress or have been carried out on a large
number of sites in the framework of enforcement activity. Many
contaminated sites, particularly in the metropolitan regions, are
remediated in conjunction with development, for example when an
industrial site is converted into a residential area.
Establishment of combined treatment/disposal facilities for
hazardous wastes in small‐ and medium‐sized industries
It happens that small and medium‐sized industries treat their own
hazardous waste for example through physico‐chemical processes or the
distillation of polluted solvents or by similar methods. It may also happen
that small and medium‐sized industries treat hazardous waste from others
if the waste that has arisen externally is of a type similar to their own.
There are no general regulations or similar rules for this. Each facility must
apply for its own permit for the activity, including waste treatment, under
the Environmental Code.
Dissemination of scientific and technical information dealing with
various health and environmental aspects of hazardous wastes
Several extensive campaigns on separate collection of discarded batteries
have been conducted in Sweden. The first one was carried out in the 1980s
and related only to hazardous batteries. The campaigns were aimed at
various target groups and were regarded as successful. The requirement for
separate collection of batteries now covers all types of batteries.
Most local authorities have information targeted at households on the
collection of household hazardous waste. The information covers different
types of hazardous waste, why it is hazardous and how it should be
handled. The local authorities, which have the sole right to collect
hazardous waste from households, use various systems for the collection of
this waste.
It is estimated that 26,000 tonnes of hazardous waste was collected from
households in 2004, averaging 2.9 kg per person. At the same time there
are calculations showing that between 4,000 and 6,000 tonnes of
hazardous waste is placed in domestic refuse every year.
Preventing illegal international traffic in hazardous wastes
Sweden is a party to the Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. It
reports annually to the Convention?s secretariat on volumes and types of
waste transported across borders to and from Sweden. Cases of illegal
traffic in waste are also reported.
Sweden has implemented the Basel Convention and its prohibition of
hazardous waste movements to countries outside the EU and the OECD
through Regulation 1013/2006/EC. The Swedish Environmental Protection
Agency is what is known as the competent authority, while county
administrative boards and municipalities are inspection and enforcement
authorities. Sweden takes part in the European network IMPEL (European
Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of
Environmental Law) and its cluster on transfrontier shipments of waste
(IMPEL‐TFS). Joint inspections of transfrontier shipments of waste are
organised in this forum, principally in ports but also on the road. Projects
concerning shipments of electronic scrap are of special relevance at
present. There is discussion in particular of how illegal transfrontier
shipments of electronic waste to countries in Asia and Africa could be
prevented. Sweden takes part in and supports the partnership programme
PACE (Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment) under the Basel
Convention.
The issue of illegal transfrontier shipments is also relevant with regard to
ships sent for dismantling and recycling, particularly in Asia. The handling
of hazardous waste at these places is highly unsuitable from the point of
view of the working environment, nor is it appropriate from the point of
view of either the environment or health. Sweden views the problem
seriously and welcomes the recently adopted international IMO
convention on ship recycling. Before the convention comes into effect it is
important to comply with the currently applicable rules in the Basel
Convention with regard to ships when they become waste. Sweden
considers it important for the ship if possible to be cleared of hazardous
waste (provided this does not affect maritime safety) before it is sent for
recycling, in order to comply with the ban in the Basel Convention on
shipping hazardous waste to non‐OECD countries.
Environmentally sound management of solid (non‐hazardous)
wastes and sewage, in the context of integrated planning and
management of land resources
Policies aimed at waste prevention and minimisation, reuse and
recycling
Waste management in Sweden has changed substantially since the mid‐
1990s. Landfilling of household waste has fallen by 85 per cent since 1994.
In 1994 the proportion of household waste sent to landfill was 40 per cent.
Today only four per cent of household waste goes to landfill. The rest of
the waste is sent for material or energy recovery. On the other hand, the
trend has not been so favourable with regard to preventing waste. The
volume of household waste has increased by 35 per cent since 1994.
The increased level of recycling is the result of a consistent strategy for
landfilling to diminish and recycling to increase. Important objectives and
instruments for this trend have been the environmental objectives for
waste, producer responsibility for different product groups, the
requirement for municipal waste planning, the ban on landfilling
combustible and organic waste and the landfill tax. These instruments and
a few others are described below. Some of these instruments are also
intended to reduce volumes of waste. The description below concludes
with a section on the application of sewage sludge to arable land.
Environmental objectives
The overall objective of environmental work is to be able to hand over to
the next generation a society in which the major environmental problems
have been solved. On this basis, the Swedish Parliament has adopted
sixteen national environmental quality objectives and 72 interim targets.
The interim targets for waste are as follows:
The total quantity of waste generated will not increase and maximum use
will be made of its resource potential while minimising health and
environmental effects and associated risks. In particular:
? The quantity of waste sent to landfill, excluding mining waste, will be
reduced by at least 50% by 2005 compared with 1994.
? By 2010 at least at least 50% of all household waste will be recycled
through materials recovery, including biological treatment.
? By 2010 at least 35% of food waste from households, restaurants, caterers
and retail premises will be recovered by means of biological treatment.
This target refers to food waste separated at source for both home
composting and centralised treatment,
? By 2010 food waste and comparable wastes from food processing plants
etc. will be recovered by means of biological treatment. This target relates
to waste that is not mixed with other wastes and that is of such a quality as
to be suitable, following treatment, for recycling into crop production.
? By 2015 at least 60% of phosphorus compounds present in wastewater will
be recovered for use on productive land. At least half of this amount should
be returned to arable land.
The interim target for waste has achieved a great breakthrough among
Swedish municipalities, which is evident for instance in the municipal
waste plans. The expansion of separate collection of food waste for
biological treatment has come about largely as a result of there being a
national target for this.
Producer responsibility
Producer responsibility exists for several products (packaging, waste paper,
cars, tyres, batteries and electrical and electronic products). The purpose of
producer responsibility is to reduce the quantity of waste, increase
recycling and achieve more environmentally sound product development.
In addition to this there are what are known as voluntary commitments on
producer responsibility in three product groups (office paper, agricultural
plastic and building and demolition waste).
Producer responsibility has been successful insofar as materials recovery
has increased. The targets for recycling of packaging are met in all cases
except for metal packaging. The significance producer responsibility has
had in reducing the hazardousness of waste is described in the section on
hazardous waste. The results of producer responsibility for electrical and
electronic products and cars are also described there. Producer
responsibility for packaging has not meant a decrease in the total
quantities of packaging. On the other hand, the quantity of packaging per
kg of article has decreased, partly as a result of lighter packaging materials.
An important reason why Swedish households separate at source of
generation is that they wish to contribute to a better environment and an
ecocycle‐based society. It is therefore essential that they receive clear
feedback on the results of separation at source of generation and recycling.
Well formulated information is the single most important factor in
attaining good results for household waste.
Swedish experience also indicates that the level of service in the collection
of packaging waste and waste paper should not be closely regulated
centrally but should be formulated locally. To attain good results and
provide households with good service it is crucial that the parties have
constructive cooperation with common goals. This has previously been
lacking, but since January 2009 there has been an agreement between
producers and local authorities to join forces in further improving
recycling results and raising the level of service in collection systems.
Information and cooperation are thus very important for producer
responsibility for packaging to work well in Sweden.
Municipal waste planning
Since 1991 all municipalities have a waste plan that covers all types of waste
and the measures needed to manage waste appropriately from the points of
view of the environment and resources. The plans frequently include
targets and strategies for different waste streams but often focus on
household waste. Waste planning has meant that the municipalities have
taken great responsibility for improving the management of household
waste. Many have, for example, built up extensive systems for separation at
source of generation and recycling of various types of waste. On the other
hand, these plans do not guide the management of commercial waste to
any great extent, as the municipalities are not responsible for this waste.
Several municipalities have recently drawn attention to the issue of waste
prevention in their plans. An example of such a measure is to make it
easier to dispose of second‐hand articles. It is possible to hand in secondhand
articles for sale at certain municipal recycling centres.
Prohibition of landfilling combustible and organic waste
The landfilling of separated combustible waste has been prohibited in
Sweden since 2002 and the landfilling of organic waste since 2005. The
purpose of these bans is to improve the conservation of resources and
reduce environmental impact. Certain types of waste should be landfilled
for various reasons, for example because the substances contained in the
waste should not be dispersed or because recycling is not possible in
practice. Waste with a very low content of organic matter does not have
significant environmental impact in landfilling. These types of waste are
therefore exempt from the bans.
If there is a lack of capacity for recycling the waste, the county
administrative boards can permit dispensations from the ban. Landfilling
by dispensation has gradually decreased as capacity for other treatment of
waste has increased. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
estimates that by around 2012 there will be sufficient treatment capacity for
landfilling by dispensation to cease.
Landfill tax
A tax on the landfilling of waste was introduced in 2000. The purpose of
the tax is to reduce landfilling. The tax is levied at SEK 435 per tonne.
Waste that should be landfilled for environmental reasons is exempted.
The tax has been used as an instrument for reducing landfilling and
increasing recycling. It has unfortunately also contributed to such recycling
as is not the environmentally best way of treating waste. This applies to
waste containing hazardous substances used for various civil engineering
purposes, for example in roadbuilding. This increases the risk of hazardous
substances being dispersed to the environment.
State investment aid
Over the period 1998 ? 2002 central government grants were distributed to
local investment programmes (LIPs) in more than half the municipalities
in Sweden. Some of the grants were made to waste‐related measures such
as the expansion of digestion and composting. Landfilling as a
consequence of measures in LIPs has meant a decrease of around 462,000
tonnes in the landfilling of waste. LIPs were succeeded by climate
investment programmes (Klimp). The aim was to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Grants to Klimp programmes were awarded over the period
2003 ? 2008, A third of Klimp grants have gone to measures to increase
production and the use of biogas from waste.
Sewage sludge
Sludge has been spread on arable land for many years, but the practice has
been questioned. ?Moratoria on sludge? have been introduced twice
following recommendations by the Federation of Swedish Farmers to its
members not to spread the sludge owing to fears that it contains toxic
substances. Before the second sludge moratorium in the 1990s, up to 30‐35
per cent of sewage sludge was spread on arable land. The proportion that is
spread has now started to rise again, and stands at around 15%. As
indicated by the interim target for waste, there is an objective for
phosphorus in sewage sludge to be returned to productive land. In recent
years efforts to return phosphorus to arable land have largely been
concerned with a dialogue between various parties affected in order to
reduce non‐degradable components in sewage.
Development of environmentally sound disposal facilities, including
technology to convert waste into energy, such as, for example,
through utilisation of landfill methane
The landfilling of waste and rules relating to this are briefly described in
this section. The collection of landfill gas is also discussed. As Sweden is
well advanced with regard to utilising the energy from waste through waste
incineration and digestion, we describe this in more detail. The section
begins with a brief paragraph describing the overarching rules in the
Environmental Code applying to all environmentally hazardous activity.
Finally there is a section on the expansion of sewage treatment plants in
Sweden.
The Environmental Code
The central environmental legislation in Sweden is brought together in the
Environmental Code. All activities (including for example facilities for
waste incineration, landfilling and biological treatment) are covered by the
general rules on consideration in the Environmental Code. One of the rules
on consideration states that rational use must be made of raw materials
and energy and that the possibility of reuse and recycling must be utilised.
Other significant rules on consideration apply to requirements for
knowledge, precautions and product choice. The general rules on
consideration are to be applied in permit appraisal, supervision and selfinspection.
Landfilling
In 2001 the European Directive on the landfilling of waste was incorporated
into Swedish legislation (the Landfill Ordinance), which has tightened up
the requirements for landfills in Sweden. The new ordinance imposes
stricter requirements, for instance regarding the underlying geological
barrier of landfills, bottom sealing, final capping and collection and
treatment of leachate. The requirements differ depending on what type of
waste the landfill receives. In addition to the Landfill Ordinance there is a
regulation containing reception criteria which mean that stricter
requirements can now be set on knowledge of the properties of waste for
the producer of waste. This regulation is also a consequence of provisions
at EU level. A large number of landfills have been closed or are in the
process of being closed because waste sent to landfill is decreasing and the
environmental requirements at the landfills have been tightened up.
Collection of landfill gas
The Landfill Ordinance requires landfills that receive biodegradable waste
to collect landfill gas. The requirements also cover the sampling and
measurement of the gas. In addition, the gas has to be treated and utilised.
If the gas cannot be used for energy recovery, it has to be flared off.
Methane is collected from around 60 active and about 10 closed landfills.
The landfill gas is used for heating, electricity production and vehicle fuel.
The landfill gas is flared to some extent. As a result of the decrease in the
landfilling of organic waste, the collection of landfill gas has also
decreased. The collected quantity of gas from municipal landfills fell from
508,000 MWh in 2003 to 342,000 MWh in 2007. Another way of preventing
the loss of methane from landfills is to lay a methane‐oxidising layer, an
area that is still under development.
Waste incineration
The requirements for waste incineration are based on a European
Directive. The requirements have not brought a need for any major
adjustments for Swedish plants as similar requirements already existed in
Sweden before the Directive came into force. Some reconstruction has,
however, been needed to ensure that the requirements relating to dioxins,
carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride are safely met.
Energy utilisation through the incineration of waste is the most common
method used for the treatment of household waste in Sweden. Just under
half (47%) of household waste is incinerated. The volume of waste going
for incineration has increased in recent years, partly due to the landfilling
of combustible and organic waste now being prohibited. Around 2.2
million tonnes of household waste was incinerated in 2007. Around 2.3
million tonnes of waste of other types was incinerated in the same plants.
In addition to incineration in ?normal waste incineration plants?, waste
other than household waste is burnt by ?co‐incineration?. This takes place
in particular industries, in particular the cement industry and the pulp and
paper industry, and in some thermal power plants/combined heat and
power plants. The energy generated in incineration becomes heat and to
some extent electricity. Energy totalling 13.6 TWh was extracted at plants
incinerating household waste in 2007, of which 12.2 TWh heat and 1.5 TWh
electricity. The heat from combustion of waste meets around 20 per cent of
the total district heating need in Sweden. District heating networks in
Sweden are well developed, and a very large proportion of the energy can
therefore be utilised in comparison with many other countries. The high
level of energy utilisation is also due to many of the plants being equipped
with flue‐gas condensation and heat exchangers.
Emissions to air from waste incineration today are low. Attention was
drawn to problems with dioxin emissions in the mid‐1980s. Dioxin
emissions have since decreased by 98% and emissions of hydrogen
chloride, mercury, cadmium lead and dust have decreased by 90‐95%. The
reduced emissions are a consequence of increased waste control, a better
incineration process and more effective cleaning technology.
Incineration leaves behind residues consisting of slag from the furnace, 15‐
20 per cent by weight of the quantity of waste supplied, and flue‐gas
scrubbing residues, 3‐5 per cent by weight. Metal is separated from the
slag at most plants. The slag is then used principally as construction
material at landfills. Flue‐gas scrubbing residues, on the other hand, are
hazardous waste and are landfilled according to special rules.
Since Sweden is particularly in need of heat and energy during the winter,
waste is stored at several facilities during part of the year (summer time) by
what is known as baling, but also in open storages. Energy can then be
extracted from the waste during the cold part of the year.
Digestion
There are no EU rules for digestion and other biological treatment of
waste. Larger facilities for biological treatment have to undergo permit
appraisal according to the Environmental Code. There is guidance from the
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on what should be done in the
appraisal and supervision of biological treatment. In addition to
requirements from the authorities, the waste industry (Swedish Waste
Management) has undertaken to regularly check for leakage of methane
from biogas plants and plants that further upgrade biogas. For those
emissions that cannot be dealt with directly, plants have to draw up a plan
for further action. The digestion of waste is increasing due to several
factors, but perhaps principally as a consequence of the environmental
objective for biological treatment of food waste and state investment aid.
More or less all digestion plants have received investment aid. Of incoming
substrates to digestion plants, around 15% are food waste, while the
remainder consists of wastes from the food industry and of manure.
Smaller quantities of food waste are also received by sewage treatment
plants for digestion. Both biogas and a digestion residue are obtained in
the digestion of waste. The biogas is used for the production of heating and
electricity and as a vehicle fuel after the gas has been upgraded. The
digestion residue is returned to agriculture as a biofertiliser. Plants that
produce biofertiliser can quality‐assure their product through certification
which has been established by the Swedish Testing and Research Institute.
Certification makes demands on the whole waste management chain, from
incoming waste to use.
Sweden is notable for its substantial use of one of the most
environmentally friendly fuels, biogas, as a vehicle fuel. This trend has
been supported by investment aid also having gone to biogas vehicles at
filling stations. Despite an increase in biogas production from waste, most
production of biogas takes place through the digestion of sludge at sewage
treatment plants (50%). The collection of landfill gas also accounts for a
large share (28%), but production is decreasing here as almost no new
organic waste is being placed in landfills. The digestion plants for waste
account for 15%. There are also smaller on‐farm facilities for digestion,
principally of manure.
Sewage treatment
Around 85 per cent of the Swedish population live in areas connected to
municipal sewage treatment. The remainder of the population live in
properties with private sewers. Between 1971 and 1979 the Swedish state
invested around SEK 1.5 billion (equivalent to around SEK 11 billion in
today's money) in the expansion of municipal sewage treatment plants.
Around 1.3 billion cubic metres of water is received annually by the
municipal sewage treatment plants. It brings with it 7,000 tonnes of
phosphorus, 40,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 200,000 tonnes of organic
matter.
Since the late 1990s, a special nitrogen treatment stage has been added to
the major sewage treatment plants along the coast in southern Sweden,
from the Norwegian border to Norrtälje. Just over half of all sewage
underwent this extra nitrogen treatment in 2005. Chemical precipitation of
phosphorus is effective: on average just over 95 per cent of the incoming
phosphorus is removed. Conventional biological‐chemical treatment
removes around 40 per cent of the nitrogen. The proportion removed rises
to around 70 per cent with the extra nitrogen treatment stage. The average
rate of nitrogen removal nationally is just under 60 per cent.
It is relatively poorly understood how treatment functions in wastewater
that is not connected to municipal sewage treatment plants. Only around
60 per cent of wastewater is of an acceptable standard according to the
requirements of the Environmental Code.
The most common treatment techniques are infiltration or trickling beds.
In some areas the local authority requires a closed tank. A gully, sludge
separation alone or a caisson do not provide sufficient treatment if the
system receives toilet waste.
Radioactive wastes and their environmentally sound management
(safe storage, transportation and disposal of radioactive waste)
A product liability system has been in place since the early 1980s for the
residual products of the nuclear fuel cycle. It covers both technical safety
and personal radiation safety and financial security for final disposal. For
those parts of the system that have not yet been implemented there are
statutory requirements for the nuclear power industry to carry out a
research and development programme. The programme, together with
calculations of the costs of implementation, is examined and evaluated
every three years. Funding for future costs is provided under central
government control.
Spent nuclear fuel is temporarily stored in a national interim storage facility
(Clab) awaiting the establishment of a final storage facility. The plant has
been in operation since 1985. The nuclear power industry plans to submit
an application for permission to erect a final storage facility for spent fuel
in 2010.
Very low‐level waste is finally deposited where appropriate in special
landfills alongside the nuclear facilities where it has been produced.
A particular type of low and medium‐level waste is deposited in a national
final repository (SFR), which has been in operation sine 1988. A project to
expand SFR so that it can also receive waste from the demolition of nuclear
facilities has recently been initiated. It is planned that the facility will be
ready to receive low and medium‐level demolition waste around 2020.
Another type of low and medium‐level operational and demolition waste is
placed in interim storage while the establishment of a special final
repository is awaited. It is planned that the facility will be ready to receive
waste around 2045.
A special transport system (transport ships and special transport vehicles)
has been established by the nuclear industry to carry out transportation so
that applicable rules on safety and radiation protection are met.
Radioactive residue from non‐nuclear activity (hospitals, research
institutions and industrial sites) is handled in consideration of its relative
hazardousness. Residues from non‐nuclear activity are placed ? or are
planned to be placed ? in final storage facilities for residue from nuclear
activities.