Etelä-Karjalan Jätehuolto – connecting residents to the circular economy

ETELÄ-KARJALAN JÄTEHUOLTO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WASTE MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN NINE MUNICIPALITIES.

More than half of the municipal waste is recycled as material and the rest is mainly utilised for energy production. Waste reception and treatment operations are centralised in the Kukkuroinmäki processing centre, the heart of the circular economy in South Karelia.

At the Kukkuroinmäki biogas plant, household biowaste is turned into clean and local transport fuel, BIG biogas. The biowaste and sludge from wastewater treatment plants are treated at the biogas plant under anaerobic conditions to form biomethane. After treatment and processing, this product, made from organic waste raw materials, is ideally suited as a fuel for both gas-powered passenger cars and heavy vehicles; for example, many buses and a significant proportion of the region’s garbage trucks run on biogas. BIG biogas is available at five filling stations in South Karelia, with the refuelling network extending from Luumäki via Lappeenranta and Imatra all the way to Parikkala.

Packaging waste, plastic, carton and glass packages as well as small-sized metal items collected from eco take-back points and properties’ collection containers are utilised in the manufacture of new packaging and products. Services are constantly being developed: South Karelia has been a pioneer in the collection of plastic packaging from properties and, for example, our Hyödyksi! multi-compartment container for recyclable waste is popular. Following efficient sorting, the remaining non-recyclable dry waste is utilised at the waste-to-energy plant for district heating and electricity production.