Household waste landfilling cut by 60% since 1993

Sweden‘‘s fourth national communication on climate change has been published by the Government of Sweden‘‘s Environment Ministry has been published. It presents basic facts about Swedish society and reviews the various sectors of society according to the classification commonly used in the context of climate. Emissions of different greenhouse gases are presented for each sector and as an aggregate figure for each year since 1990, along with the impact of various policies and measures on emissions.

The report shows that Sweden has succeeded in severing the link between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. The policies and measures introduced have had a significant impact, and emissions have been decreasing with 2.3% since 1990. Over the same period, Sweden has enjoyed relatively high economic growth. The report also contains projections for emissions up to 2020. According to these projections, emissions will start to rise again unless more measures are taken. The review also presents useful information on waste management in Sweden.

Waste management

Landfilling of organic waste started to decrease from the mid-1990s after requirements on municipal waste planning and producer responsibility were introduced for a number of different groups of products, for example packaging, waste paper, office paper and tyres. A tax on waste sent to landfill was introduced in 2000, and a ban on the landfilling of separated combustible and organic material has subsequently been introduced. The collection of methane gas from landfills for energy recovery started at the end of the 1990s, aided by investment subsidies and the fact that measures in many cases proved cost-effective.

Landfilling of household waste has decreased by almost 60% since 1993. Large parts of this waste are now incinerated with energy recovery. The extent to which biological treatment methods such as digestion and composting are applied has also increased. Introduced policy instruments in the area of waste are estimated to reduce methane release from landfills by 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 and to amount to 1.9 million tonnes a year by 2020.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector are expected to continue to decrease to be 56% lower than the 1990 level in 2010. In 2020, emissions are expected to be 76% below the 1990 level. It is the reduced quantity of organic waste sent to landfill that is expected to lead to the reduction in emissions.

Sweden‘‘s waste policy is aimed at preventing waste from arising, increasing re-use and recycling, reducing landfilling and reducing the environmental impact of various forms of waste management. The quantity of household waste in Sweden in 2003 amounted to a total of 4.2 million tonnes, which is equivalent to around 470 kg per person.

Household waste comprises:


40% of food waste
20% packaging
8% newspapers and magazines
7% garden waste
5% nappies
4% other combustible waste
2% textiles
9% other waste.
Most of this goes for incineration or material recovery. The quantity of household waste has increased 2% a year over the last 10-year period, but the quantity sent to landfills has decreased. The quantity of waste in manufacturing industry amounted to around 19 million tonnes in 2002 and in the mining industry to around 54 million tonnes. Just over 40% of manufacturing industry waste went for material recovery and just under 40% to incineration with energy recovery.

The landfilling of combustible and organic waste has decreased substantially while recycling has increased. In Sweden, the heat from all installations that burn waste is utilised in the local district-heating networks. The proportion of energy utilised in waste incineration is around 90%. Landfill gas for energy recovery equivalen