Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary, the country has run out of rubbish

Sweden constantly runs out of garbage to recycle. The Scandinavian country has to constantly import rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going.

More than 99 percent of all Sweden's household waste is recycled in one way or another.

Sweden is one of the first countries to implement a heavy tax on fossil fuels in 1991. The country also generates half its electricity from renewables.

“Swedish people are keen on being out in nature. We worked on communications to make people aware not to throw things outdoors so that we can recycle and reuse,” said Anna-Carin Gripwall, director of communications for Avfall Sverige, the Swedish Waste Management’s recycling association.

The Scandinavian nation has implemented a national recycling policy so that the energy generated by waste goes into a national heating network to heat homes throughout the year.

“That is a key reason that we have this district network, so that we can make use of the heating from the waste plants. In the southern part of Europe, they do not make use of the heating from the waste, and, it just goes out the chimney. Here we use it as a substitute for fossil fuel,” Ms. Gripwell was quoted as saying by The Independent.