Stockholm sees rise in food waste recycling, following new national law

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A new law means that all Swedes are now legally required to recycle their food waste. Many cities across the country have been doing so for decades, but it means change in the capital, Stockholm. So, the question is: Has this new law made any difference? Stockholm resident Fabian Säll takes care to recycle his potato peel when he’s preparing a meal. He’s a fan of a new Swedish law that requires everyone to recycle their food waste. “I think it’s a good thing, actually, for keeping people accountable for the food that they throw away,” he says. “If you make a law out of it, you can make people think a bit differently about how much food they waste.” Biokraft, one of two companies responsible for recycling food waste in the Stockholm area, has reported a roughly 20 percent increase in total food waste collected in comparison to the same period (January to March) last year. But there are challenges in processing it, especially as a chunk of the material they receive is not actually food waste. Chasib Hamid, a recycling protection manager at Biokraft, says about 30 percent of supposed food waste they receive is actually other garbage that can’t be recycled. The company processes the waste into biogas and fertilizer that’s then sent to bus depots and local farmers. They also produce liquefied biofuel, which is sold overseas. With the help of this recycled biofuel, Stockholm converted all its buses to run on renewable fuels in 2018, according to SL, the organization that manages all public transportation in Stockholm County. But food waste recycling remains a challenge for Stockholm; about 35 percent of food leftovers still go to waste without being recycled. Each Swede, on average, generates about 120 kg of food waste annually, according to Stockholm Vatten och Avfall, which oversees the city’s waste management. Another challenge is that more than 50 percent of Stockholm’s food waste now comes not from households, but from restaurants and other food businesses. This article was provided by The Associated Press.