Overview of Waste Landscape in Denmark¤
Values are based on 2022, as this the latest year with complete data.
In all possible cases, the values for 2024 are also collected.
Total waste:¤
Total waste (excluding dirt) received at Danish Facilities mainly for incineration: 2022: From within Denmark: 3146 mio. tons 2022: From outside Denmark (import): 532 mio. tons
Fractions:¤
| Fraction | 2022 (1000 tons) | Amount burned/landfilled (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Waste for incineration | 956 | 95% |
| Residual waste | 1380 | -- |
| Food waste | 401 | -- |
| Paper | 183 | -- |
| Cardboard | 415 | -- |
| Glass | 41 | -- |
| Wood | 363 | -- |
| Plastic | 53 | -- |
| Metal | 1018 | -- |
| Textile | 6 | -- |
| Electronics | 77 | 83% |
| Garden waste | 872 | -- |
| Mixed construction and demolition waste | 3996 | -- |
| Dangerous waste | 467 | 39%/19% |
| Dirt | 9837 | 14% |
Note: Both 'Waste for incineration' and 'Residual waste' include some amount of other fractions not sorted correctly. The residual waste is burned any way[3] The full report [3] contains a more detailed breakdown of the fractions.
Food Waste:¤
2022: Household: 510,000 tons 2022: The processing and manufacturing sector: 1,152,000 tons 2022: Primary production, restaurants and distribution collectively: 372,000 tons
Waste Sources:¤
| Source | 2022 (1000 tons) | Recycled(%) | Other material use(%) | burned(%) | Landfilled(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Household | 3139 | 55% | 0% | 43% | 1% |
| Service | 1574 | 60% | 0% | 38% | 1% |
| Industry | 1147 | 74% | 1% | 20% | 5% |
| Building and demolition | 5213 | 33% | 54% | 7% | 5% |
| Other | 1118 | 60% | 18% | 17% | 5% |
Service:¤
Hotels and restaurants have the highest incineration rate of all sectors at 63%.
Industry:¤
The largest producers of waste are: 1. Food (411,000 tons) 2. Chemical products (127,000 tons) 3. Metal products/packaging (109,000 tons) 4. Manufacturing of machines and equipment (99,000 tons) 5. Metal manufacturing (80,000 tons)
74% are recycled, 20% are burned, 5% are landfilled, 1% other material use.
Sections with over 30% burned: (Manufacturing of ...) (not complete list): - Textile - Products of wood and cork (without furniture) - Paper and paper products - Chemical products
Building and demolition:¤
Largest subfractions of waste produced: | Fraction | 2022 (1000 tons) | |----------|------------------| | Concrete | 1.107 | | Mixtures or separate fractions of concrete, bricks, tiles, and ceramics | 686 | | Asphalt and coal tar-containing waste | 1.112 | | Railway track ballast | 427 | | Mixed construction and demolition waste | 427 | | Iron and steel | 362 |
A large portion of this waste is used for other material use: roads, parking areas, etc.
A question remains: Could this waste be used better, if sorted in higher quality?
Household:¤
The largest sections of waste collected from households: 1. Residual waste (1581,000 tons) 2. Garden waste (847,000 tons) 3. Paper and cardboard (555,000 tons) 4. Food waste (338,000 tons) 5. Larger items (317,000 tons)
Sorted for recycling vs actual recycling:¤
All sections need to sort waste for recycling. How much of the sorted waste is actually recycled could be a good indicator of the efficiency and purity of the sorting process.
| Waste source | Collected for recycling (% of all waste) | Actually recycled (% of all waste) |
|---|---|---|
| Household (w.o. garden waste) | 43% | 42% |
| Garden waste from households | 93% | 83% |
| Household like waste from industry | 56% | 46% |
Notes: Items sorted in household way be sorted well enough as most is recycled. Garden waste and household like waste from industry may not be pure enough, as the difference is higher here.
Deep dive into each fraction being processed:[4]¤
Food waste:¤
Waste Source -> Collection -> Sorting + Pulping -> Car with tank -> Biogas plant -> Energy + fertilizer
Sorting + Pulping companies: - https://organicumbiomass.com/?avia_forced_reroute=1 - https://remondisdanmark.dk/ - https://gemidan.dk/behandlingsanlaeg-til-madaffald-og-have-parkaffald/ - https://ecogi.dk/
Paper:¤
Waste Source -> Collection -> Pressed to bales -> Paper mill + Dried -> Sold to paper makers
In Denmark >130 companies doing Transportation or Paper mill + drying. Here are some of the more serious ones:
Cardboard:¤
The process of recycling cardboard is similar to paper.[5]
Waste Source -> Collection -> Pressed to bales -> Cardboard mill -> Sold to paper makers
Glass¤
Glass can be handled two different ways:
- Sorted extremely specifically and then reuse directly as glass bottles
- Shards of glass are melted into new bottles
(1.) is much less energy intensive and hence the best solution. (2.) is good, if the objects are broken or bottles is of low quality.
Waste Source -> Collection -> Sorting -> Whole Bottles/Shards Whole bottles -> Sorting -> New Bottles Shards -> Remelting -> New Bottles
- http://www.flaskegenbrug.dk/
- https://www.reiling.dk/ (55 56 57 22)
- https://www.ardaghgroup.com/glass/europe/ardagh-group-holmegaard-dk/ (55 54 62 00)
Dirt:¤
Traditional sorting is super efficient for dirt. Usually analyzed into 5 different types based on the purity [7]. Getting the dirt handled and sorted properly is fairly cheap, but dumping is easier/cheaper, hence we have issues with dumping on landfields [8].
References:¤
[1]: Altinget, Danish Political Newsplatform [2]: Vestforbrænding, Danish Energy Company, Food waste [3]: Danish Department of Environment, Full report 2024 [4]: Danish registry for waste handling companies [5]: Red Office Cardboard distributer for offices [6]: Danish Department of Statistics, Waste [7]: JunkBusters, Dirt analysis [8]: Danish Radio Station (National TV station), Contamiated dirt ends up on landfields [9]: FORS, Detailed explanation of each waste fraction