Driving forces for import of waste for energy recovery in Sweden

Between 1996 and 2002, the Swedish import of so-called yellow for energy recovery increased. The import mainly consisted of separated wood waste and mixes of used wood and paper and/or plastics that was combusted in district heat production plants (DHPPs). Some mixed waste was imported to waste incineration plants for energy recovery (10 percent of the import of yellow waste for energy recovery in 1002). The import came primarily from Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Finland. We identified six underlying driving forces for this recent increase of imported waste which are outlined and their interactive issues discussed