Biowaste in Copenhagen: An evaluation of the implementation

In 2017, The Technical and Environmental Administration of Copenhagen Municipality began the implementation of a new sorting possibility for all households in Copenhagen. Before the end of 2018, the municipality’s goal was to provide to its 602 481 citizens the possibility to sort biowaste and reach 45% of household waste for recycling.

Based on ethnographic interviews with citizens living in apartments on Vesterbro and Nørrebro districts, I worked on a report with three other Master’s colleagues. The aim of this report was to provide insights into recycling practices in homes and to suggest recommendations on how the municipality can encourage more citizens to sort biowaste.

By doing so, we did observations on the biofraction implementation in everyday life and how the practices of recycling are related to opinions and motivations. We found out that sorting biowaste is often integrated into already established practices, habits, and opinions, both on positive and negative sides. For some, the main motivations to sort biowaste are to be environmentally friendly, to follow a global trend of sustainability and to feel like a part of a community. From generated ideas that came along the research, we concluded with strategic communication improvement for the municipality with concrete examples.