Municipal waste management in Sweden

Each municipality in Sweden is obligated to ensure that household type of waste is transported and recycled or disposed of. This includes waste types that do not fall under the Extended Producers Responsibility such as residual waste, organic waste, food waste, bulky waste and household hazardous waste.

Municipalities are free to organize waste management themselves. About 40 % of municipalities organize their waste management within the municipal organization while 60 % collaborate with other municipalities. The collaboration is done in various forms through municipal associations, joint political boards and municipal enterprises. In some municipalities the collection and treatment of waste is primarily carried out by private contractors.

The collection is conducted in different ways, adapted to the varied conditions in different municipalities, depending on whether it is a city, rural countryside or less populated areas. Generally, the municipalities collect household residual waste and food waste using bins and containers through doorstep collection systems. Bulky waste incl. garden waste and household hazardous waste is collected through municipal recycling centers that households can drive through and drop off many waste fractions. Most municipalities offer collection of bulky waste and in some cases hazardous waste by providing doorstep collection.

Collected waste is for the most part treated in Sweden. Residual waste is incinerated. Food waste is sent for anaerobic digestion. Garden waste is for the most part composted. Bulky waste is separated into different fractions and either materially recycled, incinerated or landfilled (mostly inert waste is landfilled).

More information about collect systems and treatment of municipal solid waste can be found on municipalities trade association Avfall Sverige, Swedish Waste Management Association.

Information in English from Swedish Waste Management Association

Every municipality is obliged to adopt a local waste regulation. In the local waste regulation, municipalities regulate what type of infrastructure to provide for waste management locally and how households and individuals should source separate and handle waste. The local waste regulation is decided by politicians represented at the municipal council.

Since 1994, each municipality is responsible for drafting a municipal waste plan. The plan must cover all waste in the municipality, both household waste and other types of waste. The plan needs to set out targets, measures and instruments for preventing and managing waste. The plan should also contain a description of the current situation that affects the amount and composition of the waste, as well as an assessment of the future development of waste streams.

The plan is decided by the municipal council. It is not uncommon for several municipalities to cooperate and develop a joint municipal waste plan.

Municipalities finance local waste management by municipal waste fees. The level of the waste fees is decided by the municipal council. The municipal waste management fee covers the municipality's costs for containers, collection, transport, treatment, recycling centers, information, planning and administration. The fee can be differentiated to motivate recycling.

The property owner pays the charge, which is based on the principle of self-sufficiency. The municipality's waste management should not be profitable, and the collected funds should be used exclusively for local waste management. The funds are not allowed to be used for provision of other local services such as street cleaning services for example.