Clear Cities – improving urban waste collection systems

Urban waste collection can be a great contributor to emission levels, both from the physical collection of the waste and its subsequent incineration. In Sweden, three waste incineration plants are in the top ten of greatest single emission sources. There are several ways with which we can reduce the carbon footprint of this sector, such as climate friendlier transport/fuels, reduction of the initial amount of waste, and better recycling practices.

A continous learning curve

The City of Gothenburg has already made a lot of progress in reducing the negative climate impact from our waste collection system. This is partly due to the city delivering towards the ambitious targets set out in our regional Waste Plan. However, we also recognise the need for continuous learning and improvement to make sure we are always doing our utmost in the fight against climate change.

As such, we seek out inspiration from other cities and stakeholder to avoid inventing the wheel twice. Through these type of learning processes, we often find that we are inspired by solutions that have already been tested elsewhere. By integrating and adapting these methods to the conditions of Gothenburg, we improve our own processes, at a significantly reduced cost, while contributing to a more robust method. This could, for instance, lead us to do the same things we already do but slightly different, or to us tackling a problem using previously untested methods.

Gains and contributions

The Clear Cities project is using this approach to innovation as a collaborative project between seven European partners: Apeldorn (Netherlands); Gothenburg (Sweden); Langhe Monferrato and Roero/Piedmont Development Agency (Italy); Ljubljana Regional Development Agency (Slovenia); Ilfov/Bucharest Regional Development Agency (Romania); and Burgas (Bulgaria). We are looking forward to working together to gain new perspectives specifically on:

• Waste prevention measures
• Waste sorting methods (both before collection and after collection, using artificial intelligence as a method for improving)
• Waste treatment methods

We will also contribute to our project partners’ climate reduction efforts with our expertise in:

• Fossil-free waste collection, as our waste collection has been fossil-free since 2015.
• Combining governance methods with technological solutions, where the board of the municipal-owned company Renova AB has made a declaration of intent to make it possible to build a carbon capture and storage facility at the city’s waste incineration plant.

Delivering towards ambitions

The project delivers in line with the city of Gothenburg’s Environment and Climate programme (in Swedish), our Waste Plan 2021-2030 (in Swedish) which is permeated by the waste hierarchy established by the EU Waste Management Law.

Timeline

APRIL 2024 - JUNE 2028

Learn more about the project here.

Contact

Peter ÅRNES (Strategist), Department of Sustainable Water and Waste Management, peter.arnes@kretsloppochvatten.goteborg.se