Have you ever wondered what actually happens to the waste you recycle? Where does the plastic, paper and metal go? Sorting as much waste as possible – everything from a can to an old bike, plays an important role in the waste disposal chain that begins in your household. Erik Alexandersson heading Kaupang Markets in Sweden from Epicenter Stockholm, says “there’s no such thing as garbage – just a lot of raw material to be recycled.”
With its roots in “Norsk Gjenvinning Group (NG)”, the leading supplier of waste management services in Norway – Kaupang Markets has only just arrived in Sweden to support Swedish companies, public as well as privately own, with their waste streams and become more sustainable by finding new recycling solutions.
“We want to avoid that as much waste as possible end up on landfills and instead turn waste into valuable resources. This allows critical material to be re-used and also contribute significant to CO2 savings. Material recycling should always be top priority when finding waste solutions”.
Waste is growing exponentially while the supply of natural resources is scarce. With a rapidly growing population, we have no choice but to learn to recover and reuse materials. In the OECD however, only 55% of waste is recovered. Kaupang Markets creates added value through finding best available recycling solutions by matching waste producers in Sweden with manufacturing industries worldwide. It’s not unlikely you’ve already seen waste handled by the NG group, although it’s in a different shape. When reading a magazine, walking on the sidewalk or building your IKEA cabinet.
The demand for recycled raw material just keeps increasing. This goes hand in hand with more strict requirements from the government of waste treatment. But also, as financial incentives to be more sustainable. ”I work for a company that works with sustainability in a very specific way”, Erik says.
Kaupang only just started back in October 2019 and Erik is now looking for waste in Sweden that needs to be looked after. Whatever materials – they have solutions for most of it.
“Waste management is behind when it comes to digital solutions,” Erik says. And what better place to find digital ideas and partners than the House of Digital Innovation itself?
For all fellow Epicenter members who wants to exchange ideas of how to improve waste management in Sweden with digital tools – make sure you reach out to Erik: erik.alexandersson@kaupangmarkets.com
Lastly, we want to give Erik and Kaupang Markets a warm welcome to the Epicenter Community!
