As some of you might already have seen… Sweden loves recycling! 🔃

They love it so much that the trash bins are covered in a cupboard and look very modern. I sometimes struggled at the beginning of staying here with finding the bins, as they looked too modern and just like the normal furniture 😅.

Even though sorting seems like a lot of work, as there is a different bin for every kind of material, the Swedes have made it very easy!
There are 6 big sorting groups:

Paper & cardboard (tidningar & kartong)
It is the place for paper packaging, like paper cups, toilet roll tubes, shoe boxes, paper bags, milk and juice packs, and so on.

 Plastic (plastförpackningar)
You can throw plastic packaging containers, plastic bags, tubes,.. and similar items

Glass (coloured & clear)
Empty jars, bottles,.. Please think about removing metal caps, corks,…

Metal (metall)
Cans, tubes, aluminium foil, empty paint tins,…

• Food waste (matavfall)
Everything that you throw away from food, eggshells, kitchen paper tea-bags and wooden spoons, forks..

General waste (restavfall/brändbar)
All the rest like envelopes, toothbrushes,..

Of course, do not throw your batteries, curtains and materials that are too big into the bins. You can drop them at the recycling centres (ÅVC). 🪫

Most of the time, there are separate bins in your student accommodations, so it is very easily accessible. 🙌🏼
They are signed with big pictures, so even as a foreigner, you can’t miss them! 🥳

Swedes are finding sorting so important that you can even get money for bringing back bottles and cans! 💸 They have a deposit-refund system for it. If you return it to a ‘Pantamera’ machine, you can get 1- 2 kr back per bottle/can! It is mentioned very clearly on the bottles and cans. You find them close to the supermarket and can spend the money there. 🤩

To end up, here are some fun facts about sorting:

1. Recycling is kinda the most popular sport in Sweden, since 99% of household waste is either recycled or used in generating energy! So next time, throw your food waste in the right bin so the buses can run on biogas. And when it’s cold, be grateful that Sweden uses this system, as some houses are heated by energy produced from waste incineration.

2. There are not always many bins in the street, but still, there is no trash found on it.

3. Talking about bins.. There is a bin for literally everything!

4. There is strong government support, including public campaigns. Many Swedes feel a personal responsibility to sort waste correctly

5. Children are getting educated about waste and sorting from a very young age!