The university collaborates for better waste management

Creaternity is launching a collaborative project with Region Norrbotten and Norrbottens Kommuner to improve waste management in the region.
“The project is fully in line with Creaternity's core values,” says Lena Abrahamsson”, Professor of Human Work Science and project manager.

Creaternity is an interdisciplinary future area at Luleå University of Technology that conducts research with the aim of minimizing the waste of resources by circular use of materials using digitization and innovative business models.

“We want to create solutions that are sustainable, efficient and profitable. If the costs of waste management in Norrbotten's municipalities are reduced, the money can instead be used for other public services,” explains Lena Abrahamsson.

Cooperation instead of competition

Kairi Pääsuke is a strategist for business and society at Region Norrbotten. She highlights the value of the project being done in collaboration with different stakeholders.

“We need to move away from competitive thinking and instead try to identify the optimal forms of cooperation for different waste issues. This project focuses on cooperation within Norrbotten. But I do not rule out that some issues are best solved in cooperation with, for example, Västerbotten and northern Finland,” she says.

Alexander Brobäck-Nyrén is an operations strategist in Kiruna municipality. He has been looking for a Norrbotten forum for waste issues for a long time without success.

“But then I got a tip about Kairi, and thus this project. It's exactly what I've been looking for! I've been a bit jealous of Västerbotten, which has had formalized waste cooperation between municipalities since 1994. We have major challenges, such as how to deal with the new regulations for textile waste. Another is the distances. For example, the longest route for waste collection in Kiruna is about 520 km. We also drive our food waste to Boden, which is 300 km,” says Alexander Brobäck-Nyrén.

Creating a resource pool

A common problem for the small municipalities in Norrbotten is the lack of staff Johan Hörnemalm, scientific leader in innovation and sustainable development at Norrbottens Kommuner, believes that the project can help create a resource pool.

“Through this project, we can find ways for the municipalities to help each other with coordination, business intelligence and exchange of experience and expertise.”

At the start-up meeting on August 21 in Norrbottens Kommuner premises in Luleå, researchers from Creaternity and representatives from most of the municipalities participated, both in the administration and those who work with waste management.

As a first step in the project “Circular Arctic Sweden”, the researchers will map energy and material flows in Norrbotten, inventory how the municipalities organize their waste management and identify the needs for digital tools and methods that the municipalities have to be able to share material, energy and personnel resources.

The project is funded by the EU, ERUF support for Upper Norrland, Region Norrbotten and Luleå University of Technology.