Autumn news from Rinki

The government reaches an agreement on the Waste Act – the aim is to increase sorting and recycling 

The Finnish government reached an agreement on the content of the new Waste Act at the end of November. It has been proposed that the Waste Act should impose stricter obligations on packaging producers as well as municipalities and waste holders regarding type-specific waste collection efforts.  

The aim of the proposal and the waste directives on which it is based is to increase recycling, reduce emissions and promote circular economy. For households, the reform will mean an even better service: the separate collection of packaging waste will need to be organised in population centres for all residential properties with five or more households. The cost of collecting packaging from residential properties will be the responsibility of packaging producers, and the collection will be a joint operation between packaging producers and municipalities.

Consumers will continue to have the option to recycle their waste at Rinki eco take-back points, which are located across the country and often near a supermarket. The Rinki eco-take back points are the responsibility of the producers and, according to the proposal, the minimum number of Rinki eco take-back points will be reduced as collections from residential properties become more widespread.  

The government aims to present the proposal to parliament in early 2021. The government proposal is well behind schedule. The waste management directives, which were amended in 2018, should have been passed into national legislation by 5 July 2020. It is now estimated that the new Waste Act and the required regulations will enter into force no earlier than summer 2021. 

The change in legislation will increase costs for packaging producers, and this price tag will be in the tens of millions of euros. The level of additional costs can only be assessed in more detail when the full content of the Waste Act becomes available. 

The Kinkkutemppu campaign is back! 

For the fifth year in a row, the Kinkkutemppu campaign will turn fats from ham and other Christmas dishes into Neste MY Renewable diesel. People can collect fat in used milk and juice cartons and take it to 349 collection points across Finland, 205 of which are located at Rinki eco take-back points. 

Every year, cooking the Finnish festive dishes produces a huge amount of fat that needs to be recycled in the correct way. Waste cooking fat must never be poured down the sink because it blocks the drainage system. 

The Kinkkutemppu campaign is a joint venture by 15 organisations. In addition to the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland, organisations behind the campaign include Neste, Lassila & Tikanoja, Honkajoki, Chemical Industry Pool, K Group, Finnish Packaging Recycling RINKI, Atria, HKScan, Snellman, the Rural Women’s Advisory Organisation, the Federation of Garbage Disposal Plants Kiertovoima KIVO and municipal waste companies, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the Finnish Water Utilities Association and the Finnish Environmental Industries YTP. 

For more information about the campaign and the collection points (in Finnish), please visit the Kinkkutemppu website.

© Kinkkutemppu

Rinki’s corporate customer communications will be supplemented with theme letters next year 

Rinki’s corporate customer communications will be supplemented with newsletters on specific themes next year. The letters will cover a specific issue related to producer responsibility, such as the new Waste Act, in depth and in an informative way. There will be about three letters every year.

The letters are targeted at eg. managing directors, those responsible for environmental and sustainability issues and those responsible for communications and marketing. Please spread the word about the letters to everyone in your organization who might benefit from them! You can subscribe to the newsletter, either for yourself or a colleague, by sending an email to rinki.viestinta(at)rinkiin.fi. 

© John Nurmisen Säätiö

This year we gave the Baltic Sea a Christmas present by making a donation to the John Nurminen Foundation. Rinki wishes all its customers and partners a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2021!