Innovation project leads to improved waste sorting rates

Between 2022-2024, the innovation project Reduce, Reuse, Recycle has been ongoing in Stockholm Royal Seaport with the aim of contributing to increased knowledge about waste and sorting. 550 households have participated and connected to an app where they can view waste statistics, report issues, and receive information about how waste should be sorted. In the latest survey, over 60 per cent say that their knowledge about how and where items should be sorted has improved.

Between November 2023 and May 2024, waste composition analyses have been conducted for all of Stockholm Royal Seaport's waste – residual waste, plastic packaging, and newspapers, that are placed in the waste vacuum system. The results show that an improvement has occurred for both the residual waste and plastic fractions. For example, the proportion of incorrectly sorted packaging and newspapers in residual waste has decreased by one-fifth, just over 20 per cent.

The fraction where the greatest positive change has occurred is plastic packaging, where the amount of waste has decreased the most. At the same time, the proportion of plastic packaging that is correctly sorted has increased by 10 per cent.

It is gratifying to see that the waste composition analysis indicates that sorting in the district has improved. The residual waste contains less material that should have been sorted into other fractions, and the proportion of incorrectly sorted food waste has decreased in all vacuum waste fractions. This means that more material is recycled and emissions from waste incineration are reduced.

The result is positive but should be interpreted with caution. The analyses have been done on two occasions during different seasons, and people's behaviours change depending on the season. It would be advantageous to perform more waste composition analyses over a longer period and during the same periods of the year, which is planned for 2025.

Survey shows increased motivation and knowledge about sorting

In addition to the waste composition analysis, a survey was conducted in the summer of 2024 among participants in the innovation project Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The survey shows that both motivation and knowledge among residents about how and where items should be sorted have improved since they joined the innovation project. 67 per cent of respondents stated that they had done something in their home to be able to recycle better or to minimise waste since joining the project, such as more careful sorting and use of food waste disposers.

The Reduce, Reuse, Recycle project is run by Stockholm Vatten och Avfall together with KTH (The Royal Institute of Technology), University of Agder, and Envac as the technology provider, as well as a number of property owners in the Stockholm Royal Seaport project. The project is also part of the IoT Sweden innovation programme. So far, 550 households in Stockholm Royal Seaport have connected to the Reflow app and are participating in the innovation project. In autumn 2024, the service opened for additional users, and a total of approximately 3,000 households can participate. The waste composition analysis was conducted by Envir.

Article Published: 17/04/2025 Updated: 18/06/2026