Have you ever wondered where all the leftover bread and sweets go at the end of each business day?

Recently, I walked into a local bakery just as they were about to close.  As I entered I was shocked to see the staff emptying all of their bread, kanelsnegel, spandauer etc into the rubbish bin. It bothered me so much that I decided to find out if any local food recycling programmes exist in cOPENhagen

Despite Denmark being one of Europe’s ‘greenest’ countries, with great systems for recycling paper, plastic and glass, I had difficulty finding a local organisation that recycles food for human consumption. However, I found plenty of information about groups focused on using food to create biogas, or energy which is made through the combination of mechanical and biological methods.  There were new schemes that profit from shipping perfectly good food to biogas refineries, some for industrial fertilizer production, and in some cases the leftover food is even given to pigs.

Recent figures show an all-time low for strikes, so are unions failing to stand up?

Data from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) shows that from 2005-2009, Denmark is generally a middle-ranking nation in terms of industrial action, but that large strikes like the 2008 dispute distort the figures significantly.

The ‘Danish model’ of industrial relations sees negotiations between employers’ and employees’ representatives, generally every three years, the last of which  took place in the first quarter of this year – which coincided with the lowest incidence of strikes of the last 20 years.

The prime minister of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist, visited Copenhagen last week to talk about the country’s future as an oil and gas nation

The prime minister of Greenland met the press after a meeting in parliament, where he discussed security in the Arctic region - a topic especially relevant to both Greenland and Denmark after British oil firm Cairn Energy found hydrocarbons off the coast of the island.

Greenland, the world’s largest island, has a population of 56,452 and is part of the Danish realm, which consists of Denmark, the Faeroe Islands and Greenland.

MP Anders Samuelsen almost single-handedly saved his party from becoming just a footnote in Danish political history

That rumbling you hear in the distance is a herd of capitalists on the move – specifically, the Liberal Alliance party (LA) , which has gone from almost certain death to once again being a ‘contendah’ in Danish politics.

The LA was created in May 2007 by former Social Liberal MP Naser Khader and the party’s current leader, MEP Anders Samuelsen. In the November 2007 election the party nabbed five parliamentary seats – which was fewer than expected considering the momentum the party had been carrying. But from that point, it was all downhill for the party.

Recent floods have illustrated need for investment in sewage systems

The Danish Construction Association has suggested developing a national plan of action to prevent future floods after cloudbursts.

The association - which represents the interests of 6,000 member companies that employ 70,000 workers in the building, construction and industry sectors - stated that the government and parliament ought to set up a fund of 15 billion kroner to invest in sewage and drain systems. Also, it has been suggested that the councils could loan a further 15 billion kroner for the work.

Home-built ‘spaceship’ could see first Danes in space in a few years time

Weather conditions permitting, the first Danish rocket is set for lift-off this Saturday, a project which if successful could see one of its founders in a few years time becoming the first Dane in space.

The home-made rocket was produced by Peter Madsen and Kristian von Bengtson of Copenhagen Suborbitals and has been transported by submarine - another of Madsen’s projects - from Docken in Copenhagen to an area just off the coast of Nexø on the Baltic island of Bornholm.

Bicycle motorways to encourage people to bike to and from work

The government is set to build bicycle motorways, with three lanes in each direction, as part of an effort to get more Danes to bicycle to and from work, writes Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

The government will therefore build several hundred kilometres of new bike paths in and around the larger cities, with the aim of getting twice as many people biking to and from work.

Some types are being treated faster while others are being neglected

Three years after the government’s cancer package made provisions to treat the deadly illness as an acute disease, critical delays still plague many patients, reports Politiken newspaper.

Statistics on the 11 most common forms of cancer, compiled by the National Board of Health and the Association of Danish Regions, show that while patients with some types of cancer are being treated more quickly, others are waiting even longer for treatment. And the numbers show it isn’t necessarily the deadlier forms of the disease that are getting prompt attention.

Station stands to lose its transmission license for promoting terrorism

The Danish-based Kurdish TV station Roj-TV was late yesterday charged with the promotion of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terror group - a charge that follows a lengthy investigation into the station and could result in its transmission license being revoked.

Roj-TV broadcasts in Kurdish from Denmark. Earlier this year its Danish CEO stepped down and immediately told the press about the station’s links to the PKK, an organisation that is on both the EU and the US’s terror lists.

Environmental organisation looking to halt further drilling off island’s coast

Cairn Energy has stopped operations on its oil rig off the west coast of Greenland after Greenpeace activists began setting up tents under the platform yesterday, reported TV2 News.

The activists sailed to the platform in three lifeboats from their lead ship, the Esperanza. Greenpeace spokesman Jon Burgwald said that the activists had supplies to keep them at the site for ‘several days’.

Mass protests mean the energy firm will look offshore

State-owned energy firm Dong Energy has given up building more wind farms on Danish land, following protests from residents complaining about the noise the turbines make.

It had been Dong and the government’s plan that 500 large turbines be built on land over the coming 10 years, as part of a large-scale national energy plan. This plan has hit a serious stumbling block, though, due to many protests, and the firm has now given up building any more wind farms on land.

Rasmussen discusses Denmark’s role in Nato and Afghanistan

Nato general secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Copenhagen yesterday as part of his round trip visit to all of the Nato member countries. The former Danish prime minister, who took over the role in the spring, said it was good to be back on his first official visit to Denmark in his new role.

Fogh met his successor Lars Løkke Rasmussen at parliament to discuss Denmark’s role in and support of Nato, attended lunch at the Royal Palace, and then finished off the day at the University of Copenhagen, where he met with students and took part in an open discussion about Nato, Afghanistan, and Denmark’s role in both of these.

Police still looking for suspects in case of man found in slurry tank

A man found dead in a disused fertiliser tank on a farm near the southeast Jutland city of Vejle was apparently operating a marijuana laboratory 500 metres away from the site, reported public broadcaster DR.

Police say the man, who they believe is Vietnamese, was growing the powerful type of pot known as ‘skunk weed’ with two other accomplices. The two lived on the farm with the deceased and are wanted by authorities in connection with the case.

A raid on Vesterbro’s known prostitute areas results in 17 arrests

Copenhagen Police rounded up 17 prostitutes on Monday night in a planned sweep of the city’s Vesterbro district.

According to Ekstra Bladet newspaper, the women are all from Africa and many are in the country on tourist visas.

Expenses ten billion kroner more than expected for first half of the year

Public spending is out of control, according to new figures from Statistics Denmark, which strongly conflict with those recently released by the government when it presented its budget plan.

Figures released by the state regarding public employee salaries and general operational costs showed zero growth, but data from Statistics Denmark show that public spending in the first half of the year increased by 10 billion kroner more than expected.

Many municipal budgets will far exceed their incomes next year

Breaking from the agreement with the government on a municipal tax freeze, 26 councils are raising their taxes in 2011 to bolster their ailing economies, reports Politiken newspaper.

Ringkøbing-Skjern was the first council to announce it would bypass the agreement, doing so last week. Since then, 25 others have followed suit.

Records to stay secret despite queen giving permission to historian

Per Stig Møller, the minister of culture, has stated that the rules regarding the royal archives will remain as they are, and although there have been parliament proposals to make accessibility easier, for historians for example, this will not happen.

The debate arose after historian and author Tom Buk-Swienty’s newly released book revealed how King Christian IX on three occasions offered Denmark to Germany in the 19th century.

Danish-owned ship forced to evacuate 118 passengers after hitting a rock in the Arctic

The Danish-owned cruise ship Clipper Adventurer was evacuated after it hit a rock in Canadian waters in the Arctic.

The 35-year-old cruise ship, owned by Danish shipping firm Clipper, hit a rock in the Nunavuts Coronation Gulf in the Arctic Canadian region on Friday, after which 118 passengers had to be evacuated onto an ice breaker belonging to the Canadian coast guard.

Defence of Bosnian former leader allegedly hampered by missing documents

Documents that war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, the former president of Bosnia-Herzegovina, requested for his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were not delivered to The Hague by Denmark’s Defence Ministry as required, reports Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper.

In addition, the newspaper alleges the ministry has given false information to the tribunal in the ICTY case against the former Bosnian-Serb politician. In response to the request from the ICTY, the Defence Ministry stated it did not have documents relevant to Karadzic’s defence.

Efforts to save 80 million kroner this year meant a farewell to many DR employees

Citing the government’s media agreement and a strained economy, public broadcaster DR fired 67 people today, with another 37 choosing ‘voluntary’ resignations.

Veteran reporters Lene Johansen, Eva Jørgensen and Kurt Strand were among those who over the past few days announced they would be taking early retirement in light of the coming dismissals.