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.

The title of this study is Leather, skin, fur – a non-issue. A study of the endeavor in national support to municipal waste management to obtain toxic-free material cycles. The aim is to investigate the relation between municipal solid waste of leather, skin & fur on the one hand and a toxic-free circular economy on the other by studying perceptions among authorities and national agents giving support to municipal waste management and waste planning. The study focuses on the incineration of Chromium Tanned Leather Solid Waste (CTLSW). The research questions are: What are the perceptions of the relation between waste of leather, skin & fur and toxic-free material cycles within national support to municipal waste management & waste planning ? How does the above question relate to the management and planning of textile waste?   The main conclusions are that although no concern is expressed concerning toxic leakages from the incineration, the management of leather waste seems to be a non-issue at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Waste Sweden. Further investigations would be needed to judge whether chromium (trivalent and hexavalent) from the waste incineration is polluting the environment and if the amount of hexavalent chromium could be reduced or contained by using another method of thermal treatment. Further there seems to be a discrepancy between waste management and waste planning where leather, skin & fur are collected as textile at the recycling stations whereas it is excluded from the definition of textile in waste planning. To enable the creation of toxic-free material cycles the knowledge of leather, skin & fur would need to be enhanced in society, for example by authorities cooperating in educating the public and by making room for these materials in academic studies in Sweden by incorporating the materials into Textile Science, Craft or by creating a new discipline including material innovations in the field of « syntetic leather ».