Urbanization and population growth around the world increases the importance of proper waste management. Many countries have different practices regarding waste management, but everyone’s goal should be to implement waste management in a sustainable way.

Waste management in Finland is guided by national and regional policies. The aim of these policies is to reduce the quantity and harmfulness of the waste generated. The national waste policies are based on European Union’s waste directives and are the base for the national waste plan, which applies to all actors nation-wide. In addition to the national waste plan, regions have more detailed regional waste plans, that take into count local circumstances and development needs.

All of the United Nations Member States, including Finland, have committed to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the centre of the 2030 Agenda, set by the United Nations. All of the goals are aiming for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future, and many of them are linked to waste management. Below are some examples of the goals, that are connected to waste management and sustainable use of materials, and that can be advanced with responsible waste management.

Besides the international, national, and regional waste policies and waste plans, the waste management is directed by legislation. The Finnish legislation concerning waste management is known as Waste Act. The main goal of the Waste Act is to “prevent the hazard and harm to human health and the environment posed by waste and waste management, to reduce the amount and harmfulness of waste, to promote the sustainable use of natural resources, to ensure functioning waste management, and to prevent littering” (Waste Act (646/2011)). The regulations in the Waste Act applies to all, including households, companies, public actors, and industrial actors.

The waste policies of European Union and Finland are based on the following key principles:

• Prevention: The production and harmful impact of waste should be reduced and wherever possible prevented at source.
• The Polluter Pays: The producers of wastes take responsibility for the costs of waste management.
• Producer Responsibility: Manufacturers and importers of certain product types must bear the responsibility for the management of their products when they become waste, instead of waste producers.
• The Precautionary Principle: Potential risks related to waste and waste management should be anticipated.
• The Proximity Principle: Waste should be disposed of near to their source.
• The Self-sufficiency Principle: The EU and its member states should remain self-sufficient with regard to the disposal of waste.

Waste management is also steered by the order of priority, which is presented in figure 1 below. The first priority is preventing waste generation in the first place. When waste is generated, it should most preferably be re-used. An excellent example of this is flea markets, where the used products of one is getting re-used by another. Broken goods can also be repaired or harnessed for a new use. If re-using is not an option, the waste should be recycled. Nearly all waste can be sorted and processed separately to gain new raw materials for production. If it is not possible to recycle the waste for materials, it should be recovered as energy. Incinerating waste produces heat and energy, that can be utilized as district heating and electricity. Only if none of the above are possible, can the waste be disposed at landfills.

Figure 1. Order of priority in waste management.

Implementing the order of priority into waste management, requires sorting waste at the place of origin. Nearly all waste streams can be separately collected. In Finland, separately collected waste streams are biowaste, cardboard and carton, glass, metal, plastic packages, paper, garden waste, WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment), hazardous waste, textiles and clothes, batteries, medicine, large objects and demolition waste. Mixed waste is also collected separately, but only the waste, that is not in the condition to be recycled as materials, should be collected as mixed waste for energy recovery.

After the waste is sorted at the place of origin, it is collected into separate waste bins. The bins are emptied and transported into further processing, keeping the separately collected waste from mixing together. Depending on the waste stream, it is transported to the waste management centre, incineration, landfill, or to be processed into new materials. After necessary processing, the former waste can be used as raw materials for manufacturing new products. The ideal circular life cycle is illustrated in figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Circular life cycle of waste.

The distribution of municipal waste by treatment method in Finland in 2020 is presented in table 1 below. In 2020 nearly half of all generated municipal waste in Finland was collected separately for further processing. Over 41 % of all municipal waste was recovered as new materials including aerobic and anaerobic digestion. Nearly 58 % of all municipal waste was recovered as energy, and only 0.5 % went to landfilling and other disposal.

Table 1. Municipal waste fractions by treatment method in Finland in 2020. (Source: Statistics Finland, 2021)

Figure 3 below displays distribution of treatment methods for municipal waste in Finland from 2004 to 2020. The total quantity of municipal waste has increased, but the share of waste, that is sent to landfilling has decreased significantly. Some increase in the share of municipal waste recovered as material is visible, but the most significant development has taken place in the share of municipal waste treated for energy recovery.

Figure 3. Treatment method of municipal waste in Finland from 2004 to 2020. (Source: Statistics Finland, 2021)

Although the development of waste management in Finland has been positive over time, the development of new innovations and solutions is still important in order to achieve an even more sustainable future and to increase circulation in waste management.

Written by:

Suvi Hackman, Research Engineer

Harri Auvinen, Research and Development Manager

Miika Virtanen, Project Specialist

Bio and Circular Economy, Savonia University of Applied Sciences

Read more on the subject:

United Nations, Sustainable development goals of United Nations: https://sdgs.un.org/goals#goals

Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Waste legislation: https://ym.fi/en/waste-legislation

Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Circular economy: https://ym.fi/en/waste

European Commission, Waste prevention and management: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/green-growth/waste-prevention-and-management/index_en.htm

Environment.fi, Waste and waste management: https://www.ymparisto.fi/en-US/Consumption_and_production/Waste_and_waste_management

Helsinki Region Environmental Services HSY, Waste guide: https://www.hsy.fi/en/waste-and-recycling/waste-guide/