Yhdyskuntajätehuolto

Yhdyskuntajätehuolto refers to the system for managing municipal waste in Finland. It encompasses the collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of waste generated by households and similar sources within a municipality. The primary goals of yhdyskuntajätehuolto are to protect public health, prevent environmental pollution, and promote resource efficiency through waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and energy recovery.

Legislation, primarily the Waste Act (Jätelaki), governs yhdyskuntajätehuolto. Municipalities are responsible for organizing and providing waste management services to their residents, often in cooperation with neighboring municipalities or through private service providers. Households are generally obligated to sort their waste into different fractions, such as biowaste, packaging waste (paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic), and mixed waste.

The collected waste is then directed to various treatment facilities. Biowaste is commonly composted or treated through anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and fertilizer. Packaging waste is sent to material recovery facilities for sorting and recycling. Non-recyclable mixed waste is typically incinerated in waste-to-energy plants, generating heat and electricity, or disposed of in landfills as a last resort. The hierarchy of waste management, prioritizing prevention and then reuse and recycling over recovery and disposal, is a central principle in Finnish yhdyskuntajätehuolto. Efforts are continuously made to increase recycling rates and minimize the amount of waste sent to landfills.