Household waste management in Västerbotten, Sweden - investigating how small municipalities aim for waste reduction Author: Sofia Sparrfeldt Abstract The aim of the study is to investigate how small municipalities in Västerbotten County (Northern Sweden) manage household waste. Eight municipalities have established a cooperation, including a joint plan to handle waste management in order to lower the amount of waste. The goal was to interview all eight municipalities, but only six of them answered. Based on the interview results, the municipalities had accepted the plan aiming to lower the amount of household waste, but not all of them had initiated the implementation of the plan. According to data from the joint waste management plan, the amount of waste did not decrease between the years 2008-2011. However, the data was collected during a time period before the plan was finally ready to be implemented. Some of the interviewed municipalities expect that the load of waste will decrease in their municipality, but this was not always directly related to implementation of the joint waste management plan. Municipalities rather assume that the reduction is related to a general population decrease, or that a tense economic situation of the citizens affected their consumption. In general, the civil servants in most of the investigated municipalities have many different tasks in addition to coordinating the waste management. Therefore, they appreciated a joint effort among small municipalities. However, they also identified disadvantages with the cooperation, such as for example that it can take very long time to get something happening when many municipalities are involved. Keywords: household waste, waste management, Sweden

To decrease the climate impact and the use of fossil fuels in the society we have to change our way of living so it becomes more sustainable and ecofriendly. Production of biogas can in different ways contribute to this change since it is a biological waste treatment method that takes advantage of the energy in the organic material, the substrate. The purpose with this thesis has been to study the prerequisites in the community of Älvdalen for local production of biogas. Data have mainly been collected from literature and from Nodava AB, the water and waste company of the community. The substrates in this study consist of food waste, manure, wastewater sludge and slaughter waste from fish. The manure represents the largest part with respect to the biogas potential. The results include a presentation for how much the calculated biogas potential corresponds in heating households, production of electricity and how many cars that can be filled up with upgraded gas per year. The result in the study show there are conditions for local production of biogas within the community of Älvdalen. Calculations show that there are possibilities to produce energy corresponding totally 2,5 GWh from substrate occurring locally in the community.

In October 2010 it was discovered that leach water had been released from a waste deposit directly into a ditch during a period from March until October 2010. The river Dalhemsån runs close to the waste deposit, just about 10 meters from the ditch. By studying the benthic fauna it was discovered that the environmental status of Dalhemsån is bad in this part of the river, but the discharges of leachate from the waste deposit does not seem to have deteriorated the water further since May 2010.

Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2004.

Over the years, Sweden have been good at reducing landfilling of waste and increasing recycling, but we have not been as good at reducing the amount of waste. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has begun to work towards reducing Sweden's waste amount, where one of the priority areas is the construction sector. Prevention is only a small part of the waste management itself. The biggest difference is made in material handling and resource efficiency.  The aim of this project is to investigate through a case study how new production in construction manages to reduce its climate footprint by reducing its waste measured in kg / BTA. The goal of the project is to present compiled statistics on the waste management of selected new production projects and draw conclusions from the connection between the statistics and working methods. The study is a case study based on six randomly selected projects carried out by Peab Sverige AB, locally in Umeå, Sweden. The study was conducted by studying documents and already collected data as well as qualitative, semi-structured interviews with key roles for each project. The waste statistics show that only one of the six projects meets the goal of 25 kg / BTA. The worst result is 62.82 kg / BTA. The results regarding working methods show that there is no concrete strategy at company level to reach the target of 25 kg / BTA. The purchasing department is largely centrally controlled because Peab works with long-term framework agreements with nationwide suppliers and contractors. Furthermore, the results showed that some projects chose prefabricated solutions but that most elements were built on site. Most projects stored their material indoors or in tents except for one project that stored their material outdoors, sometimes not covered up. On those projects, material had to be thrown away because it was unprotected. The same project also had problems with construction defects that led to the need to demolish and redo. Most projects used Peab's planning form VPP (Visual Production Planning) in addition to one project. Follow-ups and feedback of experience differ between the projects. All projects use experience feedback after the end of the project, but not all did follow ups on individual steps. The conclusions that could be drawn from the study are that storage of material should take place in tents or indoors to reduce waste due to damaged materials, only if just-in-time deliveries are not possible. Furthermore, the study showed that neither type nor size of project has an impact on the amount of waste measured in kg / BTA. Because each project is unique, it is difficult to compare the work of site managers because they do not use the same methods. Experience feedback would therefore need more space between the projects. Good communication, planning and coordination are fundamental if dealing with problems that arise in production and to be able to continue working towards reducing waste at construction sites.

Sammanfattning I linje med Europeiska unionens förordande av avfallshierarkin, där återvinning skall främjas före deponering, har återvinningscentraler blivit allt mer vanligt förekommande i Sverige. Återvinningscentraler kan samla in grovt avfall, farligt avfall och vätskor, samt i varierande omfattning mellanlagra, komprimera, sortera och ibland behandla avfallet. Återvinningscentralerna är ofta trafikerade av såväl personbilar, som av tyngre trafik. Forskning visar att markanvändning är en utav de parametrar som främst påverkar hur dagvattnets sammansättning av partiklar och föroreningar blir. En annan parameter som också påverkar föroreningssammansättningen i dagvattnet är tid. Föroreningskoncentrationerna ökar om det varit nederbördsfritt en lång tid. Klimataspekten har också en påverkan på dagvattnets kvalitet. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka och karakterisera återvinningscentraler som utsläppskällor av 7 metaller och olja till dagvattnet, då återvinningscentralers påverkan på dagvattnet idag inte är känd. Med hjälp av i) dagvattenmodellen StormTac, ii) en litteraturstudie, iii) insamlade data från Stockholm Vatten och Avfall, har tre olika schablonvärden för de 8 föroreningarna beräknats och jämförts med avseende på dataunderlag, osäkerhet, och statistisk signifikans gentemot observerade värden. Schablonkoncentrationerna klassades också i enlighet med Stockholm Vattens klassningssystem. Karakteriseringen resulterade i markberoende s.k. schablonkoncentrationer för Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Hg och oljeindex. Schablonkoncentrationerna baserade på insamlade data från Stockholm Vatten och Avfall hade störst underlag och kunde valideras förutom för Ni och oljeindex. De värden som hämtats från litteraturstudien gick endast att validera för två ämnen. StormTacs schablonvärden validerades för 5 av föroreningarna. Koncentrationerna för dessa föroreningar klassas som måttliga, och föroreningarna i dagvattnet är jämförbara med en väg med årlig dygnsmedeltrafik på 15 000 fordon. Kvicksilver hade för många mätningar under detektionsgränsen för att analyseras statistiskt. Konfidensintervall och osäkerhetsanalys visar på att föroreningskoncentrationen följer en positivt skev fördelning. Resultaten antyder dessutom att vissa årstidsvariationer i koncentrationen kan ske i dagvattnet. Dessa variationer är följer det mönster som tidigare forskning visat med högst koncentrationer under vinter och vår. Årstidsvariationerna är statistiskt signifikanta för Ni, Cd och oljeindex. Användandet av stickprov och StormTac-modellen medför dock att resultatet är osäkert. Nyckelord: avfall, avrinning, dagvattenföroreningar, metaller, schablonkoncentration, StormTac, årstidsvariationer / Abstract Characterization and modeling of stormwater runoff at a recycling center -a comparative study In accordance with the European Union’s waste management law, which encourages recycling at the expense of landfills, recycling centres have become more frequently occurring in Sweden. Recycling centres can collect bulky waste, hazardous waste, and liquids as well as sort, store and treat the waste. Furthermore, the recycling centres are often subject to traffic by private cars and heavy-duty vehicles. Research shows that land use is one of the prevailing parameters affecting the constituents in stormwater. Another parameter having an impact on the constituents of the runoff is time. The concentration increases with the time since the last rain event. The climate of the area also influences the stormwater quality. The aim of this study was to characterize run off from recycling centres and evaluate their role as a source of pollution for 7 metals and oil, as recycling centre’s impact on stormwater pollution isn’t known today. Using i) the StormTac database, ii) a literature review, and iii) data from the company Stockholm Vatten och Avfall; three different standard concentrations for the 8 pollutants were calculated and compared regarding the extent and quality of the data, the uncertainty, and the standard concentration’s statistical significance compared to observed values. The concentrations were also classified according to the system proposed by Stockholm Vatten. The characterization resulted in so called standard concentrations based on land use for Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, Hg, and oil. The standard concentrations calculated from the Stockholm Vatten och Avfall were based on the largest amount of data and could be validated for all substances except Ni and oil. The concentrations found in the literature review could only be validated for two of the pollutants. Five of StormTacs standard concentrations were validated. The standard concentrations were classified as “medium”, which is comparable to a road with 15000 annual average daily traffic. Mercury didn’t have enough data above the detection limit to be analysed statistically. The confidence intervals and the uncertainty analysis showed that the concentration of the pollutants follow a skewed positive distribution. The results demonstrate that some variation in concentrations can be expected during the different seasons. These variations follow the findings made in other studies and suggests that the concentrations are the highest during winter and spring. The seasonal difference was statistically significant for Ni, Cd and oil. As the result is based on grab samples and the StormTac-model, the results are assumed to be uncertain. Keywords: metals, pollutants, runoff, seasonal variations, StormTac, stormwater, waste

The European parliament and the council produced the directive 2008/97/EC to reach a circular society, reducing the use of recourses, and to increase recycling. Not using natural gravel is one way to reach the goals in the directive (2008/98/EC), this will lead to more use of recycled materials, such as concrete from demolished buildings. The purpose of this study was to establish if there is any discrepancy between different waste facilities in Sweden, regarding their management of waste from the construction and demolition industry. For example, reception and routines regarding asbestos and PCB (Polychlorinated biphenyl) in windows was examined. Interviews were held with 8 municipalities in Sweden, 4 municipalities in the north of Sweden and 4 in the south. In almost every question, differences between the north and the south of Sweden were shown. Among the differences, the facilities in the south of Sweden had more developed routines regarding PCB in windows. This may be due to a difference regarding for example economics and the size of the city. In conclusion these differences between the waste facilities regarding their management of waste may be due to resources, time, knowledge, social factors, economic and local climate. The significance of these differences may for example be that substances are more easily dispersed in the environment due to different handling of the waste.

Det är allmänt känt att stora mängder kemikalier används i textilindustrin och även om det är att föredra att återanvända och återvinna textil kommer oönskade kemikalier stanna kvar i det cirkulära kretsloppet. Vid sortering av textil behöver de varor med giftiga, miljö- och hälsofarliga ämnen sorteras bort och uteslutas ur kretsloppet. Det finns ännu ingen icke destruktiv portabel metod utvecklad för att skilja på textil med respektive utan farliga kemikalier. I det här arbetet har analysmetoderna Fourier transform infrarödspektroskopi (FTIR) och röntgenfluorescensdetektion (XRF) undersökts för möjlighet till användning i en sorteringsprocess. Testerna som utfördes var oförstörande tester, utan provberedning, på textila prover. Obehandlade samt färgade respektive fluorkarbonbelagda prover testades. I analyserna av testresultaten jämförs de behandlade proverna med de obehandlade. De testade proverna har också matchats mot två olika befintliga generella materialbibliotek, för att identifiera provets materialinnehåll. Ett materialbibliotek uppfördes med alla de textila material som testats. Mot detta bibliotek matchades ett antal använda klädesplagg med syfte att undersöka potentialen för ett textilanpassat materialbibliotek. FTIR-tester utfördes på ett stationärt instrument medan det för XRF användes ett portabelt instrument, dock finns båda teknikerna att tillgå som handhållna, portabla instrument. Testresultaten visar att XRF inte kan detektera textila fibrer men kan detektera kemikalier innehållande vissa tyngre grundämnen. Däremot gick det inte i testerna att indikera svavelinnehåll i ullproverna, vilket hade förväntats på förhand. Testerna med FTIR visade att det går att skilja på de vanligaste fibrerna inom fiberklasserna cellulosa, protein och syntet; bomull, ull och polyester. Däremot går det inte att skilja olika cellulosafibrer från varandra, vilket även inkluderar regenererade fibrer. Polyamid och polyester är mycket olika och går att skilja åt, dock är polyamid svår att skilja från silke och ull då deras kemiska struktur är mycket lika varandra. I undersökningarna gick det inte att se någon skillnad mellan de färgade proverna och deras respektive referensprov, inte heller gick det att skilja det fluorkarbonbelagda provet från ett obelagt. Matchningarna av de använda kläderna mot det textila materialbiblioteket visade goda resultat då majoriteten av plaggen matchades mot önskat material.

The purpose of this report was to investigate why insulation containing chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) is not always recycled correctly and examine if the supervision carried out by municipalities is enough to discourage erroneous handling. Additionally the purpose was to propose actions leading to that more insulation containing CFC is recycled and that municipalities can improve their supervision. The method used was a qualitative study where one questionnaire survey was sent to Swedish municipalities and one to demolition contractors. The results from the survey shows that 70 % of municipalities rarely carry out inspections on known demolition sites. This is mainly due to lack of resources but also due to not being aware of current demolition objects. Awareness is a primary condition for inspections. Often smaller municipalities are better informed which can be a consequence of better local knowledge. The survey shows that the material inventory, which is to take place before the application for demolition is filed, often is of a poor standard and lacks sampling for CFC. Lack of knowledge is pointed out as the main reason for incorrect handling of the material. Another reason is economy since identifying and taking care of hazardous waste is expensive. The level of knowledge needs to be increased among all affected parts and one way of doing so is to improve the cooperation and communication between different parts of the municipality so that more inspections can be conducted.

The surtax in Sweden, which exclusively applies for nuclear power plants, in conjunction with low electricity prices, has forced Swedish nuclear power plants to minimize their expenses. At Oskarshamn power plant, estimation of cost, associated with low-level nuclear waste management has been conducted several years ago, but with lacking knowledge about how the calculations were performed. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to establish an independent cost estimation for compactible and non-compactible, low level and medium level nuclear waste. Cost estimates for free released low-level nuclear waste was also performed. By analyzing average economic figures from year 2014-2015 and visits on-site, an excel-based calculation template was accomplished. During the on-site studies, several visits to the low-level nuclear waste management facilities at Oskarshamn power plant were made, in order to get an overview of how the handling process works. By following the staff around, it was possible to estimate some of the time durations for the different parts in the handling process for compactible lowlevel nuclear waste, that were used in the calculations. The price for compactible low-level nuclear waste was calculated to 6,72 - 6,97 kr/kg, depending on the activity level. The non-compactible low-level nuclear waste price was found to vary between 4 – 48 kr/kg. The large fluctuations are due to different activity levels and associated additional costs in handling, measuring, final deposition etc. For both compactible and non-compactible nuclear waste, the storage cost is a factor that dominates the total cost and that could be minimized. Based on the analysis presented in this work, the cost can be decreased by reducing the storage time and/or store the nuclear waste in a more space efficient way. The cost estimate for free released material is low (5,94 – 8,74 kr/kg), which concludes that Oskarshamn power plant may profit from free releasing as much material as possible, due to the fact that it is highly profitable to recycle metals.