In 2012, Sweden began importing nearly a million tons of trash from its European neighbors.
The Swedes claimed that they themselves simply did not produce enough trash, and need more.
Only four percent of household waste is landfilled in Sweden each year.
But why on earth would ANYBODY want MORE trash?
Why is Sweden buying other countries’ trash?
Well, in fact, the global waste market is estimated to be worth almost half a trillion
dollars a year.
Shipping trash from country to country, and burning massive amounts of fuel in the process,
is primarily an economic decision.
Many countries and cities charge a landfill tax, which in some places can be as high as
$100 a tonne.
Instead, some choose to ship their trash elsewhere, for considerably less money.
In 2010, China imported more than 39 million tons of recyclable waste.
Most of it came from European countries.
But in the case of Sweden, it is actually less of a cost-saving measure, and more of
an energy saving measure.
Sweden buys trash from nearby countries like Norway, and uses it for electricity.
Over two millions tons of that waste is burned and converted into power for over 250,000
homes.
This sort of exchange is called Waste-to-Energy, and is becoming increasing popular in Europe.
However, despite the cost savings and recycling benefits, WTE plants are not necessarily the
best for the earth.
According to the environmental Integrity Project, these plants can produce more pollutants than
even coal-fire plants.
In fact, issues with pollution from WTE plants have led China to actually stop accepting
dirty and unsorted waste.
They have also imposed stricter limits on polluting recycling plants.
Buying each other’s trash may sound kind of crazy, but it’s actually an ingenious
solution to issues with taxation and energy.
Of course, when it’s cheaper to send waste out of the country than simply dealing with
it at home, there may be a bigger problem at stake.
Either way, we’re going to need a lot more ingenious solutions, because the world’s
population is rising, and so is our level of trash.
Sweden may burn some of its trash but the United States does not.
Find out the reason why in this video by DNews.
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