NORWAYS RECYCLING SYSTEM
We have decided to do some more research on the waste management in Norway. We have learned a lot about waste management and recycling and we are here to share that with you.
ENJOY :)
ENJOY :)
By Sara, Agnes and Johanne
Recycling
In Norway there are many households that sort and recycle their waste. It is done slightly differently from place to place. In our region we separate the waste we have at home in four trash bags with different colors: white, orange, blue and green. The waste gets sorted based on what kind of waste it is.
Blue bag: Plastic waste
Green bag: Food waste
Orange bag: Carton waste
White bag: General waste
The garbage truck comes to every house and picks up the waste once every two weeks. Then the waste is transported to the central recycling station, and the bags get sorted in the different containers.
The next step in the proses is to recycle and reuse, and get rid off the waste we can’t use again.
Blue bag: Plastic waste
Green bag: Food waste
Orange bag: Carton waste
White bag: General waste
The garbage truck comes to every house and picks up the waste once every two weeks. Then the waste is transported to the central recycling station, and the bags get sorted in the different containers.
The next step in the proses is to recycle and reuse, and get rid off the waste we can’t use again.
PlasticThe plastics waste gets sorted in a blue bag. After it arrives at the waste station, all the blue bags get sorted in to its own container and gets shipped to Germany with a big trailer. At the factory in Germany they melt the plastic into small pellets that can be used to make new plastic products.
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FoodThe food waste gets sorted in a green bag. The green bags are loaded in another trailer and driven to Verdal. There a company called Ecopro receive the waste. They extract biogas from the food waste and turns it into fuel for the busses. The food waste that is left gets composted and turned to soil.
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CartonBeverage cartons and lightweight cartons get sorted in an orange bag. It gets sends to Trondheim. From the carton waste they make new carton products.
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General wasteWhen you have sorted out plastic, food and carton you are left with what is called general waste. This is everything that is left that can’t be reused in new products. The general waste gets driven to Trondheim, where it gets burnt. The smoke from burning the waste gets cleaned so it won’t pollute the air. And the heat form the burning gets used to heat up large buildings in the city. So it is a very good way to get rid of what we can’t reuse.
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The distanceWe live in Brønnøysund. This is a map of the distance the waste travels form our city, to the factories in our country.
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The plastic waste travels even further. From where we live in Brønnøysund, all the way to Germany.
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Dangerous wasteHazardous waste, electrical and electronic waste contain environmental toxins. These can include light bulbs, batteries, electric toys, cell phones and spray booths. Environmental toxins are not degradable and are harmful to humans, animals and nature.
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BatterySome batteries contain very toxic substances, so it is important that all types of batteries get delivered for recycling. By properly delivering batteries, you ensure that toxic substances are collected safely where they do not harm humans or nature.
In mobile phones, there is a lithium battery and it is important to source them in order to prevent fire risk. At waste facilities in Norway there is quite a lot of fires trough the year due to lithium battery being incorrectly sorted into the general waste. |
Light bulbsAll types of light bulbs contain different dangerous substances and many of them contains mercury. They are delivered to facilities where they are crushed and recycled. It is important that they are delivered so that the hazardous substances are handled properly so that there is no danger of contamination or damage to humans or animals.
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Glass and metal packagingGlass packaging is packaging of glass that has contained food, drinks or other household items when you bought it. Products of glass, such as cups and drinking glasses, should not be sorted together with the glass packaging. That's because these products can have a different composition than the glass packaging and therefore ruin the recycling process. Metal packaging is all packaging of metal, except for drinking cans with a deposit (PANT in Norwegian). Typical examples of metal packaging are canned boxes and everything made of aluminium.
Everything from metal and glass can be melted and become something new. In this way we save a lot of energy because we do not have to make new metal and glass. We can use the old again. This also results in less CO2 emissions. |
Bottle returnNorway has the world's best and most efficient mortgage system. When we buy a bottle at the store we pay 2 or 3 kroner extra, which we call "PANT" in Norwegian. This means that you pay extra money when you buy it in the store and get the money back when you return it. This helps encourage people to return the bottle, rather than to throw it in the garbage. Many countries do not have a mortgage system and 8 out of 10 bottles that come into our coast is from other countries. When you return a bottle, you help make a big contribution to the environment. When we “pant”, we ensure that the beverage packaging material can be recycled, re-processed and reused.
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Thanks for your attention
So this was a little taste of the waste management in Norway. It is still a long way to go to reach our recycling goals. We hope you guys got inspired to do more recycling and learn more about our system.
Bye u guys <33333333333
Much love from your garbage girls
Bye u guys <33333333333
Much love from your garbage girls