Abstract
Waste Management in the EU has in the past decade been guided by the 2008 directive
(2008/98/EC) – itself a revision of the 2006 Waste Framework Directive (2006/12/EC). Now,
however, a new and more ambitious package, the Circular Economy Package, including
revised legislative proposals on waste, has been adopted (EC, 2015). This shift (from Waste
Management to Circular Economy) underlines both the problem and a possible solution: In
2013, total waste generation in the EU amounted to around 2.5 billion tons per year of
which more than 60 percent were not reused or recycled; valorization of waste (as a
resource or secondary raw material) would increase competitiveness, create a substantial
number of new jobs, avoid a considerable amount of GHG emissions, and reduce EU
dependency on material imports.
For Denmark, long considered a pioneer in waste management despite it also being the
EU country producing the most waste (759 kg per person in 2014, 60 percent higher than the
EU average of 475 kg per person), the circular economy package introduces new challenges
and opportunities. A very high fraction of the municipal waste in Denmark is being
incinerated (54 percent), thus linking the waste system very closely with the energy system
through highly effective and widespread district heating networks. However, despite being
an effective way of waste management, such high rates of incineration are inconsistent with
more ambitious recycling targets at EU, national and local levels.
As is the case in most Danish cities, in Aalborg, the reliance on incineration as a waste
management and energy producing strategy is high. Almost 23 percent (1467 TJ) of the
energy used in the city’s district heating system comes from Reno Nord - the central waste
incineration plant. Currently, for household waste, metal, plastics, glass, paper and carboard
are source collected. The rest, namely the refuse waste, is sent for incineration. The organic
fraction, one of the largest groups in municipal waste, is currently still disposed within the
refuse material.
(2008/98/EC) – itself a revision of the 2006 Waste Framework Directive (2006/12/EC). Now,
however, a new and more ambitious package, the Circular Economy Package, including
revised legislative proposals on waste, has been adopted (EC, 2015). This shift (from Waste
Management to Circular Economy) underlines both the problem and a possible solution: In
2013, total waste generation in the EU amounted to around 2.5 billion tons per year of
which more than 60 percent were not reused or recycled; valorization of waste (as a
resource or secondary raw material) would increase competitiveness, create a substantial
number of new jobs, avoid a considerable amount of GHG emissions, and reduce EU
dependency on material imports.
For Denmark, long considered a pioneer in waste management despite it also being the
EU country producing the most waste (759 kg per person in 2014, 60 percent higher than the
EU average of 475 kg per person), the circular economy package introduces new challenges
and opportunities. A very high fraction of the municipal waste in Denmark is being
incinerated (54 percent), thus linking the waste system very closely with the energy system
through highly effective and widespread district heating networks. However, despite being
an effective way of waste management, such high rates of incineration are inconsistent with
more ambitious recycling targets at EU, national and local levels.
As is the case in most Danish cities, in Aalborg, the reliance on incineration as a waste
management and energy producing strategy is high. Almost 23 percent (1467 TJ) of the
energy used in the city’s district heating system comes from Reno Nord - the central waste
incineration plant. Currently, for household waste, metal, plastics, glass, paper and carboard
are source collected. The rest, namely the refuse waste, is sent for incineration. The organic
fraction, one of the largest groups in municipal waste, is currently still disposed within the
refuse material.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Exploring a changing view on organizing value creation: Developing new business models : Contributions to the 2nd International Conference on New Business Models |
| Editors | Rupert J. Baumgartner, Manfred Fuellsack, Ulrike Gelbmann, Romana Rauter |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Publisher | Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Research, Merangasse 18/I, A-8010 Graz, Austria |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Pages | 377-401 |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Event | 2nd International Conference on New Business Models - Graz, Austria Duration: 20 Jun 2017 → 23 Jun 2017 |
Conference
| Conference | 2nd International Conference on New Business Models |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Austria |
| City | Graz |
| Period | 20/06/2017 → 23/06/2017 |
| Series | Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Reports |
|---|---|
| Number | 8 |
| ISSN | 2305-2511 |