- We want to work actively to get rid of the plastic completely.
Even though the bag consists largely of recycled plastic, we do not see the plastic bag as a future, says Maria Schade, union director at Kretslopp southeast.
Tougher requirements
It is the waste industry's own certification body Avfall Sverige that introduces stricter requirements that the bags with food waste must be evaluated for contact with food in order to enter a biogas plant.
This excludes several of the plastic bags that the municipalities use for food waste sorting today.
- We want to guarantee that the biofertilizer that comes out of the facilities will be environmentally good and something that the farmers want.
Farmers, food producers and consumers should not have to worry that the plastic bags in which food waste is collected contain some type of hazardous additive that could be released into the biofertilizer, says Klas Svensson, advisor at Avfall Sverige.
Why is the change coming now?
- We have not had the same environmental debate about plastic before.
The debate about microplastics and additives in plastic was not very big or extensive
when the decision was made to have these collection systems, but there has been an increased awareness in recent years.
"Looking at an alternative"
Cycle Southeast has used the green plastic bag for food waste since they started with the optical sorting in 2014. At that time, the choice was made because the plastic material was considered the most sustainable: They wanted consumers to be able to throw food waste in the same bins as other rubbish.
- It was the right decision then, says Maria Schade, union director at Kretslopp southeast.
But already in a year, could the green bag have been phased out?
- It is very possible.
I do not want to face such trials and tests, but we are definitely looking at an alternative.