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Detailkortlægning af affaldssammensætningen i servicesektoren

Summary and conclusions

The national waste plan - Waste 21 - focuses on increasing the recycling of waste from the service sector. Furthermore, it focuses on hazardous waste being sorted separately to avoid that the waste is mixed with other types of waste.

This constitutes the basis of this project that maps the waste production and the waste sorting and disposal situation in a number of areas within the service sector.

Sorting surveys have been carried out at four-nine enterprises within nine different sub-sectors. On the basis of the results, standardized units for waste production, e.g. kg/employee/year, have been listed for the waste production in each sub-sector.

The waste amounts registered vary considerably within each industrial sub-sector - most among hotels and shops and least among offices, schools and institutions. Differences in product lines and services influence the waste production.

This survey was carried out at a limited number of enterprises, schools and institutions, and consequently, the results are not necessarily representative of all enterprises, schools and institutions. However, the standardized units for waste production give an overall assessment of the waste production in the individual sub-sectors.

Retailing

The waste production from the retail shops mainly comes from packaging. Cardboard is already sorted to a great extent whereas plastic, paper and expanded polystyrene are seldom sorted. There are only small amounts of electronics waste.

Standardized units for waste production in the retail shops based on number of full-time employees including apprentices.

    
In general, there is a considerable recycling potential as regards waste from shops - a potential that is apparently not utilised to the full. Cardboard is sorted to a great extent for recycling, but figures on recycling from three participating shopping centres indicate that it is not done to the full extent.

Hotels

The largest waste amounts from hotels with restaurants come from the restaurants. Here, large amounts of waste food, glass and bottles and recyclable packaging waste are produced.

Waste food is sorted in accordance with legal requirements to animal feed production. However, it is possible that this system will be stopped because of future EU regulations within this area, and there will be a need for finding other systems for waste food.

The hotels produce a smaller amount of waste primarily consisting of mixed residual waste from the rooms. There are small amounts of recyclable waste in the form of paper and newspapers from the administration and the reception plus some bottles from the rooms.

Standardized units for the waste production in conference centres and hotels with restaurants per full-time employee per year.

   
There is a recycling potential in conference centres and hotels with restaurants as regards both cardboard, paper, glass and waste food.

Schools and institutions

The waste production from schools mainly consists of paper from offices and classrooms and residual waste. Paper is sorted for recycling by all the participating schools, however, only from the administration, not from the classrooms.

The childcare institutions primarily produce residual waste

The small amounts of paper are disposed of with the residual waste, and there are only very small amounts of electronics waste, batteries etc.

Some institutions sort out a small amount of waste food for the chickens.

Standardized units for the waste production in schools and childcare institutions per pupil/child.

Offices

Offices primarily produce paper, cardboard and residual waste. All the participating offices have a system for paper, however the systems work differently with varying sorting results.

Standardized units for waste production in offices per full-time employee per year.

  
Food has also been registered as a considerable recyclable waste type.

Garages

Garages have a large and mixed production of hazardous waste to be sorted for correct disposal.

The participating garages all sort cardboard, iron and metal, tyres and windscreens for recycling.

Garages for cars have plastic bumpers and only in one case sort them for recycling.

For some fractions, there are differences between the garages for cars and for lorries. Sorting took place at three of each type of garage, and standardized units are given for both types.

Standardized units for waste production at garages per full-time employee per year.

  
Iron and metal, cardboard, paper, tyres and windscreens have the largest recycling potentials.