There are three incinevation plants in Finland at the moment. They are in Riihimäki, Turku and Kotka.

There are plans to build new plants in Vaasa, Oulu, Vantaa, Tampere and Lahti.

Utilizing waste in Finland in 2009

The mount of waste used for producing energy: Finland 10 %, Denmark 60 % Sveden 45 %.

- Burning in incineration plants- used to produce energy- recycking materials- placing on waste dumps

What are the materials that cannot be burned in incineration plants?

- inflammable or explosive waste

- liquid waste

- hazardous waste

- waste from lavatories

- sand or soil

- large or heavy objects

(furnitures, construction waste)

- electic- and electronic waste

- reusable waste

(glass,metal,paper, paperboard)

Paper recyclingThe fibre that is used in producins be recycled 3-5 times. This is howforests are saved for producing oxygenand preventing climate change. About 70% of paper is recycled inFinland. About 750.000 tons of recycledpaper is collected annually. This coversabout 5% of the demand of paperindustry.

Different types of paper used forexample in newspapers, cataloguesand toilet- and kitchen papers are madefrom recycledpaper.

Paper recycling first started in Finland inthe 1920s.

Cardboard recycling

Recycled paperboard, recycled

cardboard and cardboard used in

drink cartons can be placed in

recycling bins.

It is obligatory to recycle cardboard in

larger housing cooperatives.

Metal recycling

Recycling bins targeted for collecting metals are used for small metal objects from households.

Saucepans, frying pans, small metal parts of cars and machines for example are counted as small metal objects.

Large metal objects can be taken to recycling centres.

Plastic recyclingPlastic recycling is problematic due tothe vast amount of different types ofplastics.

At the moment there is a recyclingscheme only for softdrink bottles andcrates.

Plastic can be recycled only when it isclean and if it can be used to producelarge amounts of new plastic of stable quality.

The efficiency of plastic in producingenergy equals with that of oil.

Hazardous wasteSuch material or object that is no longer used and can cause damage to healthor environment is classified as hasardous waste.

Typical examples of hazadous waste procuced in households are fluorescentlamps, waste oil, paint and glue to name some.

EKOKEM OY in Finland accepts the most common types of hazardous wastefor further processing.

A prerequisite transforming waste into raw materials is waste separation inhouseholds.

Waste oil

Waste oil is important becouse it is produced inlarge quantities and it can be utilized effectively.

A small amount of oil can pollute large amountsof ground water as it spreads fast in nature.

Waste oil, especially if it´s good quality, can bere-used. To do this, it has to be stored separatelyfrom other materials.

Waste water

Waste water means the water that isno longer used and has been used inliquids from before. Other liquids areclassified as waste water as well forexample from cemeteries andwarehouses.

Waste water is usually processed inwater punfying plants before beingreleased back to watersystems.

When prosessing water, the purposeis to remove the solid parts, organisingredients, nutrients, microbes andheavy metals from it.

Biofuel in Finland

The use of biofuel in transportationis not very common.

Palm oil based fuel will be takeninto use in the near future.

In the beginning of 2011 the E 10gasoline was introduced as anoption for cars.

In Finland biofuel is also made forexample of turnip rape.

Flea markets

One can resell old, unbroken and clean things like clothes, jewel, toys, furniture and dishes at flea markets.

There are different types of flea markets. For example in others private people, communities and companies can rent a stall where the organizer of the flea market takes care of selling the product while in others individual sellers are responsible for selling their own products and things.

There have been flea markets in Finland since the 1920s but they weren’t common until in the 1990s.

Effects on the environment

Recycling things from one person to another reduces the consumption of raw material and energy.

Recycling goods saves and protects the environment.

If the product is affordable and in good shape it also saves money.

There are 16 flea markets in Hämeenlinna.