Estonia ships majority of recyclable paper waste to other countries
Estonia generates over 100,000 tons of paper and cardboard waste each year. Less than a tenth of that is recycled domestically, with the majority sent to Lithuania and Finland, as recycling is not economically viable for companies in Estonia.
Due to limited recycling options for paper and cardboard in Estonia, this waste must be exported. Most of Estonia's paper and cardboard is sent to Lithuania, with some continuing on to Finland.
The issue came to light during a recent discussion on the Waste Act in the Riigikogu Environment Committee. Committee member Tiit Maran (SDE) said the international transport of paper waste is perplexing.
"It's certainly odd to transport it from one end [of the region] to the other — especially when it could be handled nearby. It's frankly a bit embarrassing," Maran said.
"These processes should be as local as possible and involve as little movement as possible across the globe. That's important for reducing the fossil fuel footprint and the overall environmental impact," he added.
Kai Realo, head of waste management company Ragn-Sells, noted that paper and cardboard are sent to partners in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and even Asia. Realo believes Estonia could handle the recycling itself, but government support would be necessary at least in the early stages.
"We're certainly in contact with the government because we'd be interested in finding end uses for materials we process here in Estonia. It's a fair question — why are we shipping this to the other side of the world when we could just as well reuse it right here?" Realo said.
Ivo Jaanisoo, undersecretary at the Ministry of Climate, confirmed that the state will not fund new recycling plants. According to Jaanisoo, domestic paper and cardboard recycling could become more economically viable if sorting by material type improves.
"The situation isn't entirely bleak," Jaanisoo said. "Estonia does have some capacity to handle certain paper waste streams, though on a very small scale. The question now is whether that capacity will grow or whether we'll attract more investment. The conditions for that are being created through the waste reform and other government initiatives."
Currently, 60,000 tons of paper and cardboard waste end up in municipal trash each year.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Valner Väino
