Waste management in Copenhagen Mette Skovgaard Sustainability Unit City of Copenhagen, Denmark
Outline of presentation Introduction to the City of Copenhagen Principles & division of responsibilities Collection and treatment waste Results Waste and Resource Management Plan 2018 2
Facts about Copenhagen Capital of Denmark 88 km 2 570,000 inhabitants 297,000 households 90% living in apartments Annual increase in population of about 10,000 355,000 workplaces 30,000 enterprises Waste (2010): 821,000 tonnes Photo: Ursula Bach 3
Up until the 1960s: Dumpsites Waste driven to dumpsites Population growth Rapid economic growth Increasing amount of waste Lack of capacity Growing environmental awareness: Groundwater NIMBY Something had to be done 4
Instead of dumpsites - Incineration In 1970, two incineration plants were opened in the vicinity of Copenhagen Managed and operated by intermunicipal entities Amagerforbrænding in the east of Copenhagen Vestforbrænding just north-west of Copenhagen Reduced health hazards and used the waste as a source for heat and electricity Connected to an extensive district heating system 5
Responsibilities National (Danish Environmental Protection Agency) Statutory order on waste Recyclable waste from industry and commerce (market driven) Data collection Register for waste transporters and treatment facilities for recyclable waste Municipalities 6 Local regulation All aspects of household waste, incl. packaging waste Assignment of waste for incineration and landfilling from commerce and industry Classification of waste Inspections of waste producers and treatment facilities Ownership of incineration plants and landfills Waste planning
Principles for Danish Waste Management System Waste hierarchy Source separation National taxes on treatment (since 1987) Recycling 0 EUR Incineration ~45 EUR Landfill 63 EUR Ban on landfill of organic waste (since 1997) Waste fees not part of tax system Municipal waste budget has to balance over a period of time 7
Collection of household waste in Copenhagen From 2009-2011, the City of Copenhagen has undergone tendering of household waste Previously collected by private foundation since 1898 Tendering of collection of waste Tendering in city districts Tendering in special waste fractions Recyclable waste sold by the municipality at market value Collection and treatment of commerce and industrial waste Waste producers find own transporter for collection of waste Transporter or waste producer find treatment facility for recyclable waste 8
Collection of waste from households Collection schemes Collect- and bring schemes Proximity principle Easy and logical Source separation City responsible for all household waste 5 recycling centres 6 small recycling centres Receive 30 fractions of waste (12 on small) Free of charge (per visit) - fee paid on an annual basis Residual waste Paper Cardboard Rigid plastic Metal Small electronics Batteries Bulky waste WEEE Garden waste Hazardous waste Glass (bring banks) Recycling centres 9 Copenhagen Waste Management System
From landfilling to incineration to recycling: results 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1988 1992 1994 1999 2004 2006 2010 Landfill Incineration Recycling 1 0
Waste production in 2012 Total: 808,000 tonnes Recycling 59%, Incineration 38%, Landfilling 2%, Special treatment 1% 400.000 350.000 300.000 250.000 200.000 150.000 100.000 50.000 - Household Commercial C&D Recycling Incineration Landfilling Special Treatment 11
Resource- and Waste Management Plan 2018 Change from incineration to recycling Focus on green growth and resource efficiency Target in 2018 20 % reduction in waste to incineration From 324,000 tonnes in 2010 to 260,000 tonnes in 2018 45 % of household waste to recycling From 55,000 tonnes in 2010 to 100,000 tonnes in 2018 Plan came into force 1 January 2013
New collection system for rigid plastic, metal and electronics The figures 23 000 waste containers 7 800 collection sites Approximately 240 000 households 450 000 inhabitants The new collection system 3 containers (metal, WEEE and rigid plastic) Residual household waste containers removed Picture by Ursula Bach Collection frequency once every 4 th week, fixed, if people need more additional volume is added in stead 3 chamber waste collection trucks means people are only disturbed once
Information campaign Recycling is gold Caretaker events Events held, visited by 390 caretakers. Positive response Letter to households with sorting guide and stickers 190 600 distributed so far, sent to the households the week before implementation 50% remembers having received the material. 70% of these have briefly read it, 50% have saved the material Events near public venues 7 events so far, 150-300 visitors per event The campaign is a success 84% remembers noticing it, our goal was 55% Keeping the momentum News letters, sorting award, addressing the youth Advertising in movie theatres Picture by Ursula Bach
okt-12 nov-12 dec-12 jan-13 feb-13 mar-13 apr-13 maj-13 juni-13 juli-14 aug-13 sep-13 okt-13 nov-13 dec-13 jan-14 feb-14 mar-14 apr-14 maj-14 juni-14 juli-15 aug-14 sep-14 okt-14 nov-14 dec-14 jan-15 feb-15 mar-15 apr-15 maj-15 juni-15 juli-16 aug-15 sep-15 okt-15 nov-15 dec-15 Ton Collected rigid plastic waste per month, tonnes: collected (bars) and forecast (dotted line) Indsamlede mængder pr. måned: Hård plast 100,0 90,0 80,0 70,0 60,0 50,0 40,0 30,0 Hård plast Hård plast - prognose 20,0 10,0 0,0 15
Plastic Zero, www.plastic-zero.com 16
Thank you for your attention! Mette Skovgaard, mette.skovgaard@tmf.kk.dk 17