Integration of the packaging waste utilization systems of Finland and Russian neighboring areas

Abstract

This study examines the situation of energy recovery of packaging waste in Finland,
packaging waste utilization in the Russian neighboring areas and the state of operational and
business environment of packaging waste recovery development schemes. Waste
management and recovery of waste materials carry current and focal problems in Finland and
in Russia. Both tightening national environmental legislation under the influence of EU
regulations and the need to reclaim wastes have caused the state of change in the waste
management field in Finland. In Russia, the situation of reclaiming waste materials is poorer
and the recovery rates of waste fractions are low.
Finnish energy production facilities seem to have obvious needs for replacing fossil fuels with
renewable energy sources and waste derived fuels given that the quality requirements exist.
The situation with exceeding the demand and companies competing for waste derived fuels is
already foreseeable. In the sparsely populated country, the collecting of waste for recovery is
also a matter of feasibility. On the other hand, economic growth, the growing purchasing
power and the supply of consumer goods in Russia, especially in the city of St. Petersburg and
Leningrad region close to the Finnish border, have a measurable effect on the volume and
composition of generated packaging waste, now mainly disposed in landfills.
The cooperative Finnish-Russian cross-border recovery of packaging waste is a potential
option for Finnish and Russian companies to develop their businesses and promote waste
recovery. The biggest challenges in implementing new operations relate to legislative
differences, foreign license practices and different waste management systems. In this paper,
we present a theoretical model of an energy recovery scheme from the perspective of Finnish
energy production facility.