09/12/2025
Turning Plastic Waste into Climate Action: What Stockholm Can Teach the World
People everywhere have the chance to make a real difference for the climate, starting with how we handle plastic packaging. Envac’s collaborative project in Stockholm is one example of what’s possible: improved plastic sorting and collection can help cut CO₂ emissions dramatically, by turning what used to be waste into a valuable resource.
When plastic is burned instead of being recycled, it becomes a hidden contributor to climate change. In Stockholm, mixed waste is estimated to generate around 325,000 tonnes of CO₂ every year, largely driven by plastic products that should have been recycled instead. Plastic packaging alone accounts for roughly 60 per cent of the CO₂ emissions from the treatment of household waste.
At the same time, plastic is a global challenge. Only about 9 per cent of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled; the rest has been incinerated, landfilled or leaked into nature.
If all plastic packaging in Stockholm households were sorted correctly, residents could cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40,000 tonnes annually. This is equivalent to half of the fossil-based emissions generated by household waste. Now, an innovative project in Hammarby Sjöstad is demonstrating how this can become a reality.
By combining smarter collection and sorting technologies with clear communication and user-friendly infrastructure, cities everywhere can follow Stockholm’s lead. When residents, city authorities and technology providers pull in the same direction, plastic stops being an end-of-life problem and becomes part of a circular resource flow.
Sources:
Stockholm Exergi: “Plasten i Stockholms avfall bidrar till koldioxidutsläpp motsvarande ett halvårs vägtrafik”
UNEP: “Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled”
