Waste sorting is just becoming our daily habit, and it is no longer enough to save the planet's natural resources. Through sorting and processing, we return resources back to the production cycle and reduce the use of primary raw materials. However, this is only part of the necessary changes.
Mr Weine Wiqvist, Chief Adviser of the Swedish Waste Management Association Avfall Sverige, spoke about this at the Circular Economy Forum in Ivano-Frankivsk. He, in particular, gave a clear description of how waste can become a new resource. In addition to being able to reuse materials, we can:
- use biofuels for cars instead of gasoline and diesel,
- use biocompost as fertilizer,
- We can also get heat and electricity from waste.
Some of the proposed have already been implemented in Sweden. Although, as Mr. Wiqvist said, Sweden still has a long way to go in terms of organic processing.
Jaka Kranjc, Secretary General of the Association of Ecologists Without Borders, shared Slovenia's experience in preventing waste generation at the forum. In 2014, Ljubljana became the first European capital to move to the Zero Waste concept. The city has managed to increase the collection of separate organic waste and reduce the amount of waste sent for recycling by a total of 95%, while the cost of waste management remains one of the lowest in Europe. To achieve these results, Snaga, a state-owned waste management company in the province of Ljubljana, has adopted three main strategies:
- Introduction of a door-to-door collection system specifically focused on organic waste collection.
- Reduced the frequency of residual waste collection without changing the collection of secondary raw materials and organic waste.
- A strong communication strategy focuses on prevention and reuse to engage citizens.
After 14 years, the total waste generation decreased by 15%; recycled or composted waste increased on average to 68%; the amount of waste sent to the landfill decreased by 95%.
Video of the broadcast: https://fb.watch/b3tOvGXbnn/