In 2020, NSR, Höganäshem and Bintel started a test project where a total of 28 level meters were installed on all waste bins in two waste rooms in Höganäs. The data collected clearly showed that the rooms were not sized according to the customer's needs. The measures put in place based on the data collected, combined with physical changes to the environmental room, resulted in a 40% reduction in waste. In the long run, it has also resulted in an equal reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and led to a drastic reduction in Höganäshems' cost for waste management . With these figures behind it, the initiative is now being extended to cover all of Höganäshems' 40 Recycling room s and 550 containers.
"We see a clear improvement in the sorting of waste among our tenants when the bins are not overflowing. Our hope is that this initiative will lead to better waste sorting, less Residual waste, lower costs and, in the long run, a reduced environmental impact," says Anders Nordberg, Head of Housing at Höganäshem.
Generally speaking, the management of Residual waste (combustible) is one of the biggest costs in terms of waste management - a cost that will continue to rise as the cost of carbon emissions increases. By connecting the waste bins with level measuring sensors and then using this data in the right way, the overall cost of waste management can be reduced.
"Recycling room are often wrongly dimensioned and not sufficiently adapted to the actual need. For example, when the containers for plastic and paper packaging overflow, it can easily end up in combustibles and thus be burned unnecessarily," says Michael Wictor, CEO of Bintel.
The municipal waste management company NSR, together with its owner municipalities, aims to reduce the amount of Residual waste thrown away from 160 kg to 100 kg/person by 2024. To achieve this goal, other ways of working are needed. In recent years, NSR has invested heavily in innovation and development in the field of digitalisation.
"It has been difficult for us to evaluate the impact of different interventions to increase sorting. With the help of the technology, we can now continuously monitor waste flows and see how they vary over time, as well as evaluate which of our customers' efforts have the greatest impact in improving sorting. During the test project, we have already been able to identify some initiatives that have produced good results in terms of increased sorting, and it will be interesting to see if we get the same results when Höganäshem and Bintel now decide to scale up," says Lotta Lewis-Jonsson, project manager at NSR.
The project will run until December 2023, after which it will be evaluated.
For more information:
Anders Nordberg, Head of Housing, Höganäshem
T: 042-33 78 80
E: [email protected]
Michael Wictor, CEO Bintel
T: 0707-36 71 74
E: [email protected]
Lotta Lewis-Jonsson, Project Manager NSR
T: 042-400 13 77
E: [email protected]
About Höganäshem:
AB Höganäshem was founded in the 1950s and today has more than 1,400 apartments in the town of Höganäs and in Jonstorp and Östra Lerberget. For more information, see www.hoganashem.se
About NSR:
NSR AB is owned by the six north-west Scanian municipalities of Bjuv, Båstad, Helsingborg, Höganäs, Åstorp and Ängelholm. The aim is for the business to be part of the creation of a long-term sustainable and recycling-based society. NSR works to deal with waste and recycled materials in the best possible way, taking into account the environment, the working environment, technology and the economy. For more information, see www.nsr.se
