Poltettavat

Poltettavat is a Finnish term used in municipal waste management to designate burnable waste. The word literally means items that are to be burned. In practice it corresponds to the category commonly referred to in English as combustibles or incinerable waste. The burnable fraction is typically incinerated in waste-to-energy plants or dedicated combustion facilities, often with energy recovery.

The exact contents of poltettavat vary by municipality, but it generally includes materials that can be safely incinerated and are not suitable for recycling or composting. Typical examples are paper and cardboard, textiles, certain plastics, and small amounts of untreated wood. It can also cover mixed household waste that cannot be recycled or composted. Items that are not considered poltettavat include biojäte (biological waste such as food scraps and yard waste), hazardous waste (ongelmajätteet), electrical and electronic waste, batteries, glass, and metals, which are diverted to other streams.

Handling and labeling of poltettavat depend on local waste-management guidelines. Households are usually instructed to place burnables in designated bags or bins and to keep hazardous or non-burnable items out of the burnable stream. The goal is to enable efficient energy recovery while minimizing harmful emissions through proper sorting and modern emission-control technologies.

Etymology-wise, poltettavat derives from polttaa (to burn) with the suffix -ettava, indicating items that are suitable for burning. While the concept is broadly used in Finland, the exact composition of the burnable fraction is defined by local regulations and facilities, leading to some regional differences.