How Sweden Is Leading The Way In The War On Waste

By Lottie Dalziel

Sweden now has such little waste they need to import it. Less than 1% of Swedish household waste is sent to landfill since 2011. But how do they do it? The Swedes are very serious about their waste there is no stigma around trash just around those who don't do their bit.

1.Sorting through trash is normal, there is little confusion or stigma around waste. The swedes get right to it sorting rubbish into newspaper, plastic, metal, glass, light bulbs and batteries.

2. Every residential home must be within a 300m radius of a recycling station.

3. Swedes are encouraged to give their old medicine and pill bottles back to their pharmacy instead of throwing them in the trash.

4. Recycling bins have speakers in them to make recycling more fun and enjoyable for everyone.

5. They were the creators of Plogging. Never heard of it? Don't worry you're not alone. Plogging comes from jogging and the Swedish phase "plocka upp" which means to pick up. To be a part of it all you need to do is pick up any trash on your run. We recommend taking a recyclable bag with you because you'd be surprised how much is out there.

So take a que from their books and 'panta mera' which means recycle more in Swedish. Come on Australia there's no time to waste.