Biowaste

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Front page / Guidance and environmental education / Sorting instructions and guides / Biowaste

Small actions matter.

Give biowaste a chance to be useful

About 25% of the mixed waste collected from households is biowaste. Biowaste placed in mixed waste is incinerated at the waste-to-energy plant, causing important nutrients and humus to be lost from circulation. The calorific value of moist biowaste is also much lower than that of dry waste. When biowaste is separated from mixed waste in sorting, the biowaste can be recovered. You can influence the amount of biowaste at home through wise choices, by buying and preparing only as much food as is needed.

Biowaste treatment

There are differences in the treatment of biowaste in our operating area. Separately collected biowaste from Hattula, Hausjärvi, Hyvinkää, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala, Loppi, Mäntsälä, Riihimäki and Valkeakoski is processed at Envoer Ltd and Gasum Ltd. The remaining pulp is used to produce biogas and fertiliser.

Separately collected biowaste from Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Kerava ja Tuusula is processed at the Kekkilä composting plant. Composting is carried out in a controlled manner in a tunnel indoors, and the exhaust gases generated in the process are handled appropriately. You can also compost biowaste on your own property. Read more about composting here.

Sorting biowaste is easy

  1. Separate biowaste from mixed waste when sorting at home.
  2. Pack the biowaste and take it to the housing company’s biowaste container. Biowaste must be separately collected from properties with at least five apartments.
  3. Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Kerava, Tuusula: Biowaste is packed in a paper or biodegradable bag (not a plastic bag). Hattula, Hausjärvi, Hyvinkää, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala, Loppi, Mäntsälä, Riihimäki, Valkeakoski: Biowaste is packed in a paper bag, plastic bag or biodegradable bag.
  4. If you live in a detached house, you can compost biowaste using your own thermally insulated composter that has been protected from pests.
  5. If the property does not have composting or separate collection of biowaste, biowaste is placed in mixed waste.

Packing tips

Hattula, Hausjärvi, Hyvinkää, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala, Loppi, Mäntsälä, Riihimäki ja Valkeakoski

Biowaste can be packed in a bag you have made yourself using, for example, a newspaper. Plastic, paper and carton bags are also suitable for packing, regardless of their original purpose. However, biowaste should not be packed in a biodegradable bag.

Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Kerava ja Tuusula

Biowaste can be packed in a bag you have made yourself using, for example, a newspaper. All paper bags are also suitable for packing, regardless of their original purpose. Biodegradable bags can also be used in the Nurmijärvi area.

Sort into biowaste

  • fruit and vegetable peels
  • waste from meat and fish
  • coffee grounds, filter papers and tea bags
  • leftover food, small bones
  • eggshells
  • spoiled food
  • kitchen towel and other soft paper

Only biowaste from the kitchen may be placed in the biowaste container. Drain liquids from leftovers before placing them in the biowaste container. You can also put soft paper or an egg carton at the bottom of the bag to bind moisture. Kitchen towel can be used to soak up small amounts of cooking oil and then placed in biowaste. Larger amounts of oil should be packed in a closed plastic bottle and sorted into mixed waste. You can avoid bad odours by taking care of the cleanliness of the container.

Save money through biowaste sorting

When biowaste is sorted out of mixed waste, the emptying interval of the waste container can be extended. The longest possible emptying interval is up to eight week. If you live along the route of a biowaste collection vehicle, you have the option of setting up joint biowaste collection with, for example, a few of your neighbours. Read more about setting up joint collection here.

Ruskea biojäteastia.

Example: Biowaste container shared by five properties

If biowaste is not sorted

Each property has its own mixed waste container (240 l) that is emptied every two or four weeks. The emptying price per time emptied is EUR 7,86. With a two-week emptying interval, the container is emptied about 26 times a year, resulting in an annual cost of EUR 204,36/household. With a four-week emptying interval, the container is emptied about 12 times a year, resulting in an annual cost of EUR 94,32/household

When biowaste is sorted

The five properties share a biowaste container (240 l) that is emptied every two weeks. The emptying price per time emptied is EUR 6,40 and the container is emptied about 26 times a year. Thus, the annual cost per property of the biowaste container shared by five households is EUR 33,28/household. Each property also has its own mixed waste container (240 l), the emptying interval of which can be extended to eight weeks with the sorting of biowaste. The waste container is emptied about six times a year, so the annual cost with this emptying interval is EUR 47,16/household. The total annual cost with a jointly owned biowaste container and a property-specific mixed waste container is EUR 80,44/household.