There’s a lot of money to be made from better plastic recycling

Danes generally are keen on recycling, but a lot more could be done with a bit more planning

A new report from the Innovationsfonden public fund and consultants McKinsey presented at UN City yesterday reveals that there are substantial dividends to be had from a more systematic recycling of plastic.

The report estimates savings of around 1.6 billion kroner, reports DR Nyheder.

More recycling would mean less plastic and oil products would need to be imported, and there would also be an added bonus in that jobs would be created.

Less burning, more sorting
“Denmark is very, very bad at recycling plastic, and that is due to the fact that for many years we’ve been burning our rubbish in incinerators,” said Peter Høngaard Andersen, the head of Innovationsfonden.

Up to 60 percent of plastic waste ends up in incinerators. Companies and households produce 340,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year, or 60 kilos per person.

In addition to sorting rubbish more carefully, Andersen suggests a duty on plastic so companies have an economic incentive to recycle.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.