Sort More — For the Climate
Mapping household habits can contribute to better sorting of plastics in residual waste and reduce emissions. By developing new systems, the project hopes to contribute to a more sustainable management of plastic waste.
In Sweden, we are good at sorting out and handing in PET bottles for recycling. We are not as good at sorting other types of plastic in households. And plastic should not be thrown in the normal garbage. Properly sorted, large parts of the plastic can be recycled. Plastic that incorrectly ends up in the garbage bag is usually incinerated and contributes to unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions.
What could the effects be if households sort better? This is being investigated by ElectriCITY Innovation together with Stockholm Exergi, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall, Envac, Locallife, Hållbara Reimersholme and Sjöstadens Västra Sopsugs community association in the Citizen Engagement project as a platform for reduced plastic in residual waste.
BACKGROUND
The residual waste from households in Stockholm generates 175,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions when incinerated. If households were to sort out all plastic packaging, emissions would be reduced by 60 percent, 105,000 tons per year, which would have a significant positive effect on the environment. But what does it take to bring about lasting change?
OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES
The project’s goal is to:
• Gain a deeper understanding of why people do not sort waste and what can motivate increased sorting by mapping household habits.
• Reduce the amount of plastic in residual waste and increase the recycling of plastic.
• Create a method to trace where the waste comes from.
• Find ways to motivate people to sort waste more.
• Develop and spread a platform, app, that engages residents and can be used in other areas.
IMPLEMENTATION
The project will carry out mapping of the roles and responsibilities of the actors in the waste chain, citizens’ behaviour, property owners’ solutions to and concerns with areas for fractionation of waste. The project will also develop different types of systems to track, measure and map the path of the waste and the amount of plastic in the residual waste, as well as develop different solutions to increase citizens’ incentives to sort the waste.
In order to achieve lasting change, an understanding of people’s behaviors and the obstacles and opportunities that affect their sorting habits is required. The project has conducted 24 interviews with various actors in the waste chain, of which 14 with households, to identify what could make it easier and more motivating for households to sort properly. Three factors for behavior change were identified: prerequisites, motivation and role models.
With this basis, the project has developed solutions to be tested in Hammarby Sjöstad during 2024. One of these is an app, developed by Envac and LocalLife, to engage households and make them aware of their sorting. Households use their electronic key tags to open the hatch for the pneumatic garbage disposal chutes, and smart readers record the amount of waste thrown away. Via the app, households can track how many bags of residual waste or plastic waste they throw away each month and how this affects their climate footprint. They can also compare themselves with their neighbors and get information about what is sorted as residual waste and plastic packaging.
As a complement to the app, the project, together with the housing association board, will have an ongoing dialogue with residents and share results such as
• how much better the association has become at sorting,
• how much money was saved and
• how much carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced.
This provides households with continuous feedback and reminders that their efforts make a difference.
RESULTS
The project is expected to give a clearer picture of what hinders and facilitates households when it comes to sorting waste correctly and a better insight into how well residents manage waste sorting. We will also get access to technology for waste tracking, which is expected to reduce the amount of plastic in the residual waste, as well as a model for how motivation to sort the waste can be increased.
If the project and the new models succeed in reducing the amount of plastic in the residual waste, there are good prospects that they can be used in other neighborhoods and areas.
Project period
Jun 2022 - Oct 2024
of the carbon dioxide emissions
from Stockholm's residual waste come from incorrectly sorted plastic.
Project info
Category Circular economy
Project nameCitizen Engagement as a Platform for Reducing Plastic in Residual Waste
PartnersElectriCITY Innovation, Stockholm Exergi, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall, Envac, Locallife, Hållbara Reimersholme och Sjöstadens Västra Sopsug
Budget1,076,000 ESK
FinancingVinnova
Contact persons at ElectriCITY
Interviews with households
Fourteen households have answered questions about, among other things, sorting habits and the recycling options available where they live, in order to gain an understanding of what affects household sorting behaviors and their ability to sort correctly.
• 93 percent say they sort plastic packaging. However, many believe that all plastic is incinerated and cannot be recycled. Many are also unsure about what qualifies as plastic packaging.
• 43 percent say they throw all plastic into plastic recycling (not just packaging).
• 100 percent throw greasy containers into the residual waste.
One conclusion is that knowledge is important, but many of the challenges are related to behaviors. We were able to identify three clear factors for behavior change: Conditions, Motivation, and Role Models.
An app that motivates
One of the tools being tested, in a housing association in Hammarby Sjöstad, is an app designed to directly engage and raise awareness among households about their own sorting habits. In the app, households can, among other things, see how many bags of residual waste or plastic they have disposed of each month and how this affects their individual carbon footprint.
• The app allows users to compare themselves with their neighbors. Residents can see how many kilograms per person the average household in the association throws away and how their own household compares to others.
• The app also provides information on how to sort correctly, detailing what counts as residual waste versus plastic packaging.
Households use their electronic key tags which they usually use to enter the building, to open the waste chutes. When they use the key tag at the chute to open the hatch, smart readers register how much waste each household is disposing of.
Presentation of the project
Josefin Danielsson, project manager at ElectriCITY Innovation, presented the project “Citizen engagement as a platform for reduced plastic in residual waste” at the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Plastbubbel” in January 2024. The presentation is 10 minutes long.
Partners
