Sweden – landfill ban in Sweden sends fly ash for recycling in Norway

The fourth issue of International WasteNews 2005 from Waste Centre Denmark reports that, in mid-July new, more stringent rules for the reception of waste for landfill entered into force in Sweden. This has meant that for example in Linköping there are problems in landfilling fly ash from incineration, since the ash contains, among others, too many salts. At the moment there is no plant in Sweden that can treat the ash. Therefore, Tekniska Verken of Linköping has now started sending the fly ash for management in Langöya in Norway. Here, the ashes are chemically neutralised before storage in an old limestone quarry. Since this treatment is considered to be recycling, Tekniska Verket avoids the landfill tax of SEK 370 per tonne.



The price of recycling in Langöya is around SEK 450-500 SEK per tonne, and the transport has been calculated at around SEK 300 per tonne. This waste export means that the Swedish Treasury will annually lose around SEK 100 million in tax revenue when the transition period ends in 2009. So far, Tekniska Verken has landfilled around 10,000 tonnes of fly ash annually at their own landfill. On the national scale it is estimated that around 300,000 tonnes of hazardous waste will have to be exported. It is furthermore expected that the need will increase in the coming years, since waste incineration is expected to increase from around 3.2 million tonnes of waste in 2005 to between four and five million tonnes in 2008.



The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is now considering what the best solution for the future is. Is it possible to treat the waste in Sweden? Should an underground storage option be established, similar to the practice in other countries? Or should Sweden ask the EU to amend the rules? The Swedish waste export increases year by year, and the new rules will further enhance this trend. At the same time, the principle that each country should manage its own waste within its own borders is undermined.