Sustainability in Sweden: Revolutionizing Recycling

Published:

Countries

Demographics

Majors

Regions


Recycling center in a park

One of the biggest culture shocks for me in Sweden has been waste disposal. Waste plays such a huge part in all of our lives every day. I’m not sure in the U.S. if we are aware of just how much waste we produce every day. According to Duke University, Americans produce an average of 4.3 pounds of waste a day. 55% of this waste goes to landfills compared to less than 1% in Sweden.

Explanation of recycling sorting guidelines at my school

In Sweden, I am very much aware of every bit of waste I produce because I cannot simply throw it away. I have to think about what I am doing with that trash when I go to dispose of it. There are recycling centers everywhere: parks, fast food restaurants, schools, and apartment complexes. You are always within walking distance of a recycling center. These centers do not house just paper, plastic, and glass. Every recycling center, no matter if it is in my school or a park, has all of these options: combustible waste (things that don’t fall under any of the other categories), compost, plastic packaging, paper, metal packaging, cardboard, colored glass, and clear glass.

At first, sorting my trash was confusing and a little bit frustrating, especially before I knew the words for the categories in Swedish. Sometimes it is still difficult to choose how to sort my trash, but the idea is everything gets sorted. There is no general trash. Everything is recyclable in some way. This has changed the way I view waste. It feels wrong to call it trash/waste/disposables anymore. Nothing is waste. Everything has value from the banana peel to the tin can. Everything should be recycled. This has also broadened my definition of recyclables. Before, I defined recyclables as the money makers (the ones you get refunds for in some states): glass and some plastics and paper (if you wanted to do something nice for the planet since you don’t get a refund on it.) Now I believe that everything should be recycled because it can be recycled.

McDonald’s recycling center

This proliferation of recycling centers makes it easy to not litter. There is always a place nearby to sort my trash. There is a lot less litter in parks and public areas as a result. Even restaurants have recycling centers. Swedish McDonald’s makes it easy to sort with their recycling center which labels the slots for compost, Happy Meal boxes, drink cups, and a drink sink.

My apartment complex has a very large recycling center since many people live here. On my floor, we take turns taking out the trash. The only really gross part of this is taking the disintegrating, dripping compost bag to the recycling center. Vรคxjรถ supplies free paper bags to every resident to store and carry compost. With so many people living on my floor, that bag can get pretty gross, and I have had it rip and spill all over me twice when I was taking it downstairs. That bag can get pretty wet since garbage disposals are outlawed in Sweden. The Swedish government takes collecting compost seriously, and collecting compost puts less strain on the water treatment centers when there isn’t food matter going through the system according to my Swedish friends. Different cities have different methods of dealing with compost: some provide paper and some provide plastic bags. For people living in private homes in Vรคxjรถ, a garbage truck comes by to pick up the compost, but home owners must take their recyclables to the recycling center themselves. In larger cities, trucks will pick up all waste.

All city buses are fuled by biogas
20150904_162629
Public transportation is highly utilized. During rush hour, the buses are expanded to hold twice as many people.

The phenomenal part is what happens to the compost after I manage to get the sopping bag downstairs. The recycled compost is turned into biogas which fuels the city buses and heats the houses in winter. Solid sewage waste is also collected for this purpose. The Sandvik Energi Plant produces electricity for 29, 000 households, heat for 6, 500 households, and biogas for all of the cities buses, not to mention compost for farmers as well. This pushes Vรคxjรถ towards its goal of being fossil fuel free by 2030.

Capture3
This shows how recycling has increased in Sweden.

One of the major questions I had before coming here was how did the city motivate its citizens to recycle and how can we apply those principles to the U.S.? I have been asking my local friends and doing some research. The locals attribute the change in attitude towards waste to pride in their city as a green city and a love for the natural environment. Researchers have attributed this change to wide support by all politicians in every political party, environmental education for children in all grade levels, information sessions for business owners and stock holders, and effective media coverage. Locals say that is was a gradual process with each town taking their own approach to recycling.

Capture4
The Sandvik Energi Plant

It does seem doable at least on the local level. When I return to the U.S., I will sort all of my waste because there is no reason to not recycle everything.

Sources:

https://sweden.se/nature/the-swedish-recycling-revolution/

https://center.sustainability.duke.edu/resources/green-facts-consumers/how-much-do-we-waste-daily

https://crcresearch.org/community-research-connections/climate-change-adaptation-and-mitigation/v%C3%A4xj%C3%B6-sweden-greenest-city-e

https://www2.buildinggreen.com/blogs/v-xj-sweden-model-sustainability

https://www.veab.se/In-English/Sandvik-plant.aspx

 

Max Meyer

Hello. My name is Max Meyer. I am receiving a double major in Agricultural Extension Education and Agriculture and Community Development at New Mexico State University. I have always been passionate about learning from different cultures. In my opinion, a wide range of perspectives gives us the ability to solve problems and to see issues from other points of view. I want to teach sustainable farming methods to children and adults. As climates continue to change, it is important to look at these issues from a variety of perspectives. Studying abroad will expose me to unique perspectives and will help me practice communicating across cultural barriers. I am excited to study abroad at Linnaeus University in Vรคxjรถ, Sweden. I will be there for one semester in the fall of 2015. Vรคxjรถ is a city of lakes – the area is abounding in natural beauty, and I am thrilled to walk in the wilderness in my free time. Its strategic location gives Vรคxjรถ many natural resources to use for its biomass program. I want to learn how Vรคxjรถ developed to be the most sustainable city in Europe, so I can apply these practices to community development at home. I am eager to teach the lessons I learn abroad to students and faculty in the agricultural college in New Mexico.