Vantaa Energy joins the Ministry of the Environment’s Circular Economy Green Deal to promote a smart circular economy

Vantaa Energy is taking concrete steps to promote a smart circular economy by committing to the Ministry of the Environment’s Circular Economy Green Deal. The measures required by the Circular Economy Green Deal are part of Vantaa Energy’s package of projects, the key objective of which is to rapidly cut carbon emissions from energy production and promote recycling solutions. Vantaa Energy is planning a mixed waste sorting plant as a complementary solution to the separate collection of municipal waste to ensure that valuable materials remain in circulation for as long as possible.

Vantaa Energy is joining the Ministry of the Environment’s Circular Economy Green Deal, which aims to engage participating organizations to support the Circular Economy Programme’s natural resource objectives, carbon neutrality and the achievement of a sustainable economy by 2035. The key objective of Vantaa Energy’s Green Deal commitment is the overall improvement of the sustainability of the waste chain. Vantaa Energy commits to develop household waste sorting to complement the institutional sorting of mixed waste so that materials are recovered and only truly non-recyclable waste ends up for energy use. The company is exploring solutions for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from waste incineration.

As part of other Green Deal actions, Vantaa Energy commits to developing various solutions for electric heat production and heat storage as well as energy efficiency measures. These include the utilization of waste heat in the district heating network to reduce the energy production need and decreasing the network’s return temperature as part of a smart energy system.

”Our core competence is to do more from less. These measures are part of our circular economy leap where we are moving more purposefully towards the recycling of materials and energy. We want to play our part in promoting the circular economy in Finland – and that’s why it is important to be part of this Green Deal,” comments Vantaa Energy’s Kalle Patomeri, Business Director, Energy and Circular Economy.

”Achieving climate and recycling objectives requires new thinking, close cross-sectoral cooperation and challenging traditional approaches. This is only possible through a smooth dialogue between different stakeholders. The Circular Economy Green Deal is an excellent way to strengthen the dialogue between industry and ministries. The Circular Economy Green Deal also gives visibility to actions taken by companies to promote climate and environmental objectives,” Patomeri adds.

The planned mixed waste sorting plant would ensure that valuable materials are recovered

Vantaa Energy aims to increase the recycling rate. The recovery of non-recyclable waste for energy is an important part of the functioning circular economy value chain, but in terms of sustainable energy production it is essential to sort out the kinds of materials that still have a useful purpose elsewhere before incineration. This way, valuable materials can be recovered.

Vantaa Energy plans to build a mixed waste sorting plant that will enable the sorting of all household waste generated in southern Finland. In addition to efficient household sorting, a complementary solution is needed in the form of institutional mixed waste sorting to finish off the recyclable part of what is left over after human sorting. The separate collection of municipal waste will continue to play

an important role in collecting recyclable waste fractions for recycling. Finland is falling short of its municipal waste recycling targets. Thus a complementary solution is needed.

Vantaa Energy’s strategy is based on keeping valuable materials in use for as long as possible. To increase the recycling rate, institutional sorting is needed as a complementary solution alongside effective household sorting and the separate collection of municipal waste. This would significantly reduce carbon emissions from energy recovery of waste, as fossil-based plastic waste would be separated from mixed waste.

The plant project is currently in the planning stage aiming for an investment decision. The current plan is to have the mixed waste sorting plant operational in 2028.

Further information

Juha Luomala
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
tel. +358 50 592 3993
juha.luomala@vantaanenergia.fi