The waste hierarchy is a European model with clear guidelines on how to deal with waste in the best possible way. Look at the steps and read the short description below.

Förebygga – Preventing waste

The best option! It´s simple but it might take some planning. In you everyday life you can do loads to prevent waste: 

• Bring a water bottle with you
• Make sure you eat all food you buy
• Eat in the restaurant, avoid take out!
• Bring your own bags to the supermarket
• Choose products that are without packaging
• Buy quality products, things that don’t break easily 

Återanvända – Reuse

Try to mend or fix things that´s broken, give away things you don’t use, buy and sell second hand, make old clothes into rags for cleaning, reuse your plastic bags as many times as possible or upcycle your old clothes/furniture for a more modern look.

Materialåtervinna – Recycle

All packaging, all magazines, all fabrics/clothes/sheets, books and wood can be recycled. In Uppsala you can also recycle fat! Visit our ÅVCs!

Energiutvinna – Energy recycling/Burning waste

All waste you throw in combustible waste (hushållsavfall/brännbart) is burnt to create heat for district heating or long-distance heating of houses and electricity. It’s better than a landfill but more than half of the waste burnt today could have been recycled. That’s really a way to waste our resources!

Deponera – Landfill

Keeping waste in one place might prevent it spreading out, but it is not sustainable in any way. Look higher on the steps.

Advice from international students of Uppsala on how to live a sustainable life

• Sorting trash/packagings properly as well as objects/electronics. Maybe we can also try to buy and consume more responsibility: less plastic containers. We can adapt some daily habits to use less water: shorten shower time.

• Best advice: Always think about our planet in your daily activities. Sustainability starts with us. 😊

• Recycle waste.

• 1. Don’t waste food 2. Segregate your garbage properly 3. Volunteer for climate action initiatives

• Be conscious of your habits and the impact they can have and you’ll start a sustainable life is you have at least a little bit of humanity 😊

• My advice would be to stay conscious of what you put into the environment. Even if it is easier to just throw something away or flush it down the toilet, it does not take much more effort to dispose of things properly to make the environment a better place for yourself and everyone around you.

• My best advice would be to share these managing systems with the rest of the world in order to live a greener life everywhere. God job Sverige!

• Be aware of the things you use and how they might effect the environment and eco systems

• Do what you can – use a menstrual cup, get reusable shopping bags and food containers, avoid food waste, sort your waste properly, walk & bike when you can. Think about what sustainability means beyond waste and how we can live in a way that allows the next generations to have an enjoyable life.