Waste prevention measure/steering instrument | Description | Country |
Sharing economy activities by municipalities – information sharing on local businesses that promote the sharing economy | Several municipalities support the sharing economy activities in their region, through means such as providing information on sharing economy related businesses in the area (e.g. repair services). | Finland |
Sharing economy activities by municipalities – libraries | Several municipalities support sharing economy activities in their region. Activities related to our scope include lending of different goods by libraries | Finland |
Food waste reduction campaign, Food Waste Week, voluntary measure | The goal of Food Waste Week is to stimulate discussion about food waste, minimise food waste and increase the extent to which food is valued. There are marketing materials and tips to help different kinds of organisations, municipalities, and consumers to participate. Held once a year. | Finland |
Green deal: Public procurement criteria to reduce harmful substances in goods purchased for kindergartens | The Finnish municipality of Tampere, together with Tuomi Logistiikka logistics firm, signed a green deal promising to reduce the amount of harmful substances in goods (mostly toys for indoor and outside use and cleaning agents) purchased for day care use. Procurement criteria have been developed; implementation is ongoing. | Finland |
The public administration commits to waste reduction in its own operations | The public administration must act as an example for private actors and various industries. Goals for reducing the amount and harmfulness of waste could be set, for example, for shared spaces, waste-free operations and events, and reuse of goods. Defining the goals and actions of the public administration can be done, for instance, through a societal commitment to sustainable development (https://kestavakehitys.fi/sitoumus2050) or as part of environmental systems. | Finland |
Avoiding single-use takeaway food packaging | Finnish startup Kamupak offers reusable packaging solutions for takeaway food and drinks. | Finland |
Red labelled food products | Grocery stores in Finland sell food products that are about to expire with a discount that is marked with red labels. This is a very popular system and reduces the amount of food waste. | Finland |
Material efficiency commitment for the food and packaging industries | The food and packaging industries and the food retail sector made the first Material Efficiency Commitment 2019–2021 in Finland, encompassing nearly the whole value chain. The general objective of the commitment is to improve the profitability and reduce the environmental impacts of food production, packaging, and distribution. The food retail sector has set more detailed targets, and their aim is to reduce food waste by 13% and raise the recycling rate from 74% up to 78% during the commitment period. A further goal is to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, for example, in addition to reducing the amount of plastic in the containers and increasing reuse of packaging. | Finland |
Voluntary agreements between the state, municipalities, and various industries | The Finnish National Waste Plan presents green deals as a potential waste prevention measure. Green deals are voluntary and time-limited agreements aimed at finding solutions to challenges such as climate issues, loss of biodiversity, overconsumption of natural resources, and promotion of circular economy. | Finland, the Netherlands |
PRIO and the Swedish Centre for Chemical Substitution | The Swedish Chemicals Agency has developed a tool called PRIO, where users can search a database of chemical substances and their hazardous properties. It is also possible to search for different materials and get information on which chemical substances can exist in different materials. The Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) were also given the task by the government of creating a centre for chemical substitution, with the purpose of offering information, education, and tools to support the industry and public institutions work with substitution of hazardous chemicals in products and materials. | Sweden |
Municipalities’ responsibility for informing | Since 2020, municipalities have been obligated to inform households of their waste prevention activities. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has produced guidelines on how information can be provided. | Sweden |
Waste prevention competition | The region of Gothenburg is organising a national waste prevention competition. Interested households in participating municipalities are challenged to change their lifestyle and reduce their waste production as much as possible for a six-month period. A total of 50 municipalities participated in 2021–2022 and the households involved reduced their waste by 45% on average. Participating households get different challenges and are invited to information meetings to share experiences as tools in the competition. | Sweden |
Textile & Fashion 2030 | A national platform for sustainable fashion and sustainable textiles. The platform is run by Smart Textiles, part of Science Park Borås at the University of Borås in collaboration with various universities, research institutes, the fashion industry, and retail sector operators. The platform offers education, activities and tools for measuring sustainability. | Sweden |
Strategic innovation programmes | Sweden has 17 Strategic innovation programmes. RE:SOURCE contributes fundings for innovation within waste prevention. RE:SOURCE started in 2016 and has supported around 250 projects with around MSEK 50. Private companies, research institutes, universities and public sector operators can apply for funding. | Sweden |
Internal reuse platform | Several municipalities have created a digital and/or physical internal reuse platform for furniture and other equipment. It is either mandatory or recommended to search for second-hand equipment before purchasing new products. In many municipalities, the system is called TaGe (take and give). | Sweden |
Reduced VAT for repairing services | VAT on repair services for bicycles, shoes, leather products, clothes and textiles was lowered to 12% from the general level of 25% in 2017. In 2022 it was further lowered to 6%. On 1 April 2023, the VAT level was changed back to 12%. | Sweden |
Voluntary waste reduction commitment 25/25 goal | Avfall Sverige – the Swedish waste management association has challenged municipalities to a voluntary commitment to reduce the amount of food and incineration waste by 25% by 2025, compared with 2015. By 2022, 91 municipalities had accepted the commitment. | Sweden |
Waste prevention in Gothenburg | Gothenburg Municipality has in its waste management plan set a target of reducing the amount of waste from its own institutions by 40% per employee. The municipality has developed extensive guidance, checklists, and routines for its different institutions, such as schools, offices, care institutes, etc. All tools and materials are free to use by other municipalities. | Sweden |
Waste treatment tax | A tax on landfilling (2000–present) and incineration (2006–2010 and 2020–2022) of waste. The taxes have been introduced partly with the motive of promoting recycling and reuse of waste. The incineration tax was discontinued as of 2023. | Sweden |
Reusable bags in grocery stores | Reusable bags contribute to less one-time-use of plastic bags in grocery shops. | Norway |
CO2 tax on waste combustion (implemented in 2022) | For 2023, the Norwegian Parliament adopted an increase of NOK 155 per tonne of waste incineration, which will lead to a total CO2 tax for waste incineration of NOK 261/tonne of waste. Since Norway differentiates between so-called quota-obliged and non-quota-obligated sectors, the EEA must approve the new increase in the fee before it can come into force in Norway. | Norway |
Waste fee | Each municipality must determine fees to cover costs associated with the waste sector, including collection, transport, reception, storage, treatment, follow-up, etc. The costs must be fully covered through the fees. These costs cover both capital costs and operating costs. For waste that the municipality has a duty to collect, receive and/or process according to paragraph 29, 30 or 31, the fee must not exceed the municipality's costs. | Norway |
Rekoringen | Offers local food from local farms. Reduces food waste from cafés by sending fruits and vegetables to farms close by. | Norway |
Refill/ Påfyll – Klar (Orkla) | På(fyll) is a circular service for household goods. As part of the service, refilled household items are delivered to the door. | Norway |
Fretex | Largest physical second-hand store | Norway |
Finn.no | Finn.no is the largest second-hand platform in Norway for both private persons and companies. | Norway |
Too Good To Go app | Reducing food waste from restaurants, cafés, hotels etc. by selling left-over food and drinks through the Too Good To Go app. | Norway |
‘Best before but not bad after’ | A stamp on food and drink items in grocery stores, to help the consumer to understand that some food and drink still can be safely consumed after the expiration date. | Norway |
Reuse stations (Miljøstasjoner) | Reuse stations for used items that are not damaged. It is free to pick up items from these stations. | Norway |
Fjong AS | Subscription solution for an online clothes and shoes rental platform | Norway, Denmark |
Reuse – the Danish deposit system for glass bottles, plastic bottles, and cans | In Denmark, there is a deposit included in the price of a large number of types of packaging containing beverages. More than nine out of ten bottles and cans with a deposit are returned. A total of 1.9 billion bottles and cans were returned in 2021. Around 94% of containers collected via the deposit scheme are recycled into new bottles and cans. The remaining 6% are used for other types of packaging. Some examples of included drinks:
| Denmark |
Reuse - clothes | Several different NGOs collect clothes in Denmark. The clothes are then sorted and sold. The best-known player in the market is the Red Cross. The money goes to various aid projects. | Denmark |
Waste prevention – plastic | From 1 January 2021, you must pay a minimum of DKK 4 if you wish to have a new plastic carrier bag when, for example, shopping in a supermarket, and thin plastic carrier bags, for example for pizzas, were banned regardless of what they are made of. | Denmark, Sweden |
Waste prevention – food | Stop Wasting Food movement (Stop Spild Af Mad) - is a non-profit organisation in Denmark founded in 2008 that collaborates nationally and internationally with politicians consumers and the entire food value chain to combat food waste. As one many examples they also lead Denmark’s biggest online food platform www.GratisMad.dk which helps alleviate food insecurity, minimize food waste and provides free surplus food from local supermarkets and food producers to local charities. | Denmark |
Nordic Swan Ecolabel | The Nordic Swan Ecolabel contains criteria that enforce a reduction in environmental impacts and hazardous substance content. | Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
Scottish REVOLVE reuse mark | A voluntary accreditation to boost the quality of reusable items for resale. Shops can apply for accreditation but must meet the requirements, through means such as documentation, testing and certifying of products (if relevant), retail display, etc. | Scotland |
Scottish carbon metric | A weighted tool applied to municipal waste, which produces a carbon-weighted result for municipal tonnage. The objective is to steer policy and implementation towards waste streams with the highest carbon content. So, it is not primarily to do with waste reduction by weight, but rather weight reduction by climate effect. It was introduced in 2010 and initially made mandatory alongside EU recycling targets for municipalities to meet. However, the mandatory nature was withdrawn amidst complaints from municipalities that insufficient consultation had been undertaken. It is now voluntary, but all annual waste reports feature a ‘carbon metric’ version. The initial effect it had was significant. Overnight, municipalities strove to move collections to waste streams with the highest carbon content. However, these were not always compatible with existing infrastructure and services were geared towards weight-based reporting. The tool is available for anyone to use and is based on LCA data that is updated annually. https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/what-carbon-metric | Scotland |
Consumer surveys | Conducting surveys on consumers (households, business) on how they perceive waste and what society actually thinks, answering questions such as what are the problems, what can be done, do people realise they are being wasteful, and what resources are needed. The outcome of societal surveys can help direct policy to where it is needed and reach a broad cross-section of society that normal consultations do not (e.g. consultations that are conducted on draft legislation and usually only target stakeholders rather than society at large). | Scotland |
Making Things Last – Scottish national circular economy and reuse plan | A national plan for the circular economy and extension of goods’ lifespan. How different sectors should collaborate and the work packages needed to advance the circular economy in Scotland | Scotland |
The Repair Network | Creation of repair networks so that goods can be fixed rather than thrown out. | UK |
Strict rules on the use of household and business waste bins | Stringent rules are applied to the use of household and commercial waste bins – e.g. maximum permitted, no overfilling, no ‘side waste’. Rigidly enforced, the idea is to restrict bin capacity and therefore compel householders and businesses to reduce waste. | UK |
Kiel Zero Waste City Programme: Example action: Nappy service/promotion of reusable nappies | In order to make the switch easier for Kiel residents, the state capital supported the purchase of reusable nappies in a pilot project with a subsidy of EUR 200. After a very successful first year, the council decided to continue the reusable nappy funding for 2023. | Germany |
Berlin green procurement | In order for the state of Berlin to focus on procurement that promotes and requires environmentally compatible services and products on a binding basis, the Administrative Regulation on Procurement and the Environment came into force on 1 January 2013 (last updated at the beginning of 2019). This applies to all public procurement agencies in Berlin. With performance sheets, concrete ecological requirement criteria are made binding for the procurement of various products, construction, and services. Calculation tools for calculating lifecycle costs are also included. In terms of waste prevention, the procurement of beverages in disposable packaging, disposable tableware and cutlery in canteens and refectories and at large events, as well as products whose cardboard transport packaging does not contain at least 70 per cent recycled material, is not permitted. In the case of products for IT equipment, among other things, the availability of spare parts and the possibility of repairing items or expanding their performance with replaceable components and expansion interfaces must be guaranteed even several years after production has ceased. | Germany |
Kiel Zero Waste City Programme | The twelve measures of the Zero Waste concept aim to reduce food waste in various sectors. | Germany |
Subsidies for investments and reuse | Flanders has taken several steps to prevent the production of waste for instance, by giving support to businesses by providing subsidies for reuse. OVAM (the Public Waste Agency of Flanders) also provides investment subsidies to municipalities and inter-municipal associations for waste prevention, separation, and treatment (e.g. to build drop-off centres and compost plants or implement pay-as-you-throw systems). | Belgium |
Rest-o-Pack initiative | In the Brussels-Capital Region, the Rest-o-Pack initiative allows customers in restaurants to take their leftovers home. For those who are interested, the region provides restaurants with a starter pack containing 100 cardboard boxes, awareness-raising material, and window sticker to signal to customers that they are participating in the initiative. Rest-o-Pack is one of the measures implemented by the Good Food Strategy. | Belgium |
Repair Together | A social association that supports local and citizen initiatives for greater sustainability and circularity. They have a network of Repair Cafés in Brussels and Wallonia. All kinds of items can be repaired at Repair Cafés, from small broken electrical appliances to trousers with holes. | Belgium |
Weight-based pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) pricing | Weight-based PAYT is a waste management system where the cost of waste disposal is determined by the weight of the waste generated by individual households or businesses. This encourages waste reduction and recycling because individuals or organisations have a financial incentive to minimise the amount of waste they generate. It is an alternative to fixed-fee waste collection systems or volume-based waste fees. The system usually involves the use of specially designed waste containers or bins that weigh the waste being disposed of. Alternatively, waste bins can be weighed when collected. The weight of the waste is recorded, and the corresponding fee or charge is applied based on a predetermined rate per unit of weight. | Belgium, Sweden, Germany |
Informational strategy to effectively reduce household waste | "The informational intervention strategy consisted of a range of interventions (see Table 2). During the information evening (see above), participating households were asked to sign a form indicating that they would participate in the study and fill out the questionnaires as part of the evaluation. About 80% of all participating households attended this information evening and signed the form. Via an online environment that participating households could log in to, they received tips on how to separate, recycle, and reduce their waste, and they had the opportunity to share tips with other participants as well. ROVA provided five tips. Furthermore, households received 14 weekly assignments in the online environment aimed at providing them with insight into their waste behaviour. In the online environment, participating households could also report the amount of residual waste they produced per week. The reported values could be compared to the average reported amount of residual waste by all households in the area and the reported values of other households. The intervention started on 1 January 2015, and lasted for 100 days, until 10 April 2015." | The Netherlands |
Circularity support programmes for SMEs (The Front Runner Project, CIRCO) | In 2019, the municipality initiated the Front Runner Project (Koploperproject) to support SMEs in the implementation of more sustainable and circular business models. Over the course of a year, expert advisers of companies define a ‘sustainability profile’ based on which each company establishes an action plan and a communication strategy. The project foresees networking events to promote the exchange of experiences and create a permanent network among members. CIRCO is a programme supported by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. CIRCO supports creatives and professionals within the manufacturing industry to create circular business. Entrepreneurs and industry professionals can attend a three-day Circular Business Design Track. Designers can participate in a CIRCO one-day Circular Design Class. The idea is to identify business opportunities and use circular design strategies to redesign participants' plans, products, services, and business models. | The Netherlands |
‘Outsmart the waste’ initiative for teachers and schools | Initiative of the Slovak Environment Agency for schools, with specific activities throughout the school year, always focusing on a particular theme. This initiative is very popular and used by schools, with practical proposals for everyday life. The initiative also helps teachers to promote environmental themes more suitable for students, with activities for students. | Slovakia |