Denmark is proud of its image as one of the greenest countries in the world. It has long been a front runner in the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on reducing the amount of land-filled waste and viewing waste as an important resource. At the same time, Denmark also deals with the inconvenient truth that it is one of the most wasteful societies in the world. Denmark produces more trash per capita than any other country in the European Union, and sometimes it even surpasses the U.S. In 2018, Denmark adopted the national circular economy strategy, which encourages waste prevention, reduction, and recycling as well as the transition towards a circular economy. The 2021 APWA JR International Fellow's study tour on waste to resource technologies was conducted under this context. It included visits to multiple waste management organizations in Denmark to study the implementation of the strategy at both local and national levels. What can we learn from Denmark? Join the session to find out and be inspired.
 
Learning Objectives

After attending this session, participants will be better able to:

  1. Describe how the Danes weave sustainability into daily lives via creativity, humor, and joy. It is refreshing to see how the Danes view waste as a resource and enjoy some seemingly disgusting waste management practices as a thrilling activity.
  2. Gain a big picture view on how governance and policymaking on the national level could have a fundamental impact on waste management.
  3. Recognize some new technologies in waste management, including fly ash treatment, separation of carbon dioxide in a waste to energy plant, etc.

Contributor/Source

Yuejial Liu

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