Due to political decisions, more actions are taken by
society towards more sustainable waste management
solutions. On the European level, directives on land-
filling [1,2] of waste are implemented. As some 15% of
the total municipal waste flow then has to be redirected
from landfilling to other treatments, these institutional
changes will most probably lead to major changes in
Swedish waste management.
In Sweden, producers’ responsibility for packages
and tires was introduced during the late 1990s [3]. A
tax on all landfilled waste was imposed in January
2000. In 2002, a ban on landfilling of combustible
waste was introduced, and three years later, 2005,
organic waste will be included [4]. Today, the capacity
to treat this waste does not exist in Sweden, but plans
are made mainly for an extension of the incineration
capacity. Today, 22 incinerators are in use in Sweden,
and another 20 are being planned for [4]. In Sweden,
the public opinion concerning incineration is relatively
tolerant compared to other European countries. There
is however a debate as to whether an increased incineration
capacity was the aim of the imposed legislation
and suggestions about an incineration tax has been
raised