In a circular economy, waste is a resource that can be recycled into materials and energy. And that is exactly what is happening in the recycling facility in Högbytorp!
Energy recovery for a growing Stockholm
One of Europe’s fastest growing metropolitan regions is Stockholm County, which is expected to soon have more than 2.5 million inhabitants. The rapid growth creates opportunities, but also means challenges: more people means greater demand for energy while increasing waste volumes.
With the recycling facility in Högbytorp, E.ON contribute to solving this challenge by transforming what no one wants – waste – into something that everyone needs – energy – and create the conditions for sustainable growth in Sweden’s most expansive region.
A sustainable cycle between city and country
The recycling plant is dominated by two buildings: the biogas plant, which was completed in the autumn of 2018 and the combined heat and power plant, which was commissioned in January 2020.
The biogas plant decomposed food leftovers and other organic material from households and companies in the region. During digestion, biogas, biofertilizer and compost are formed.
In the combined heat and power plant, energy is recovered from waste through incineration, to produce local electricity and district heating. During combustion, a lot of energy shoes are formed. The bottom ash is fed, via a dry discharge system, to the neighboring plant operated by Ragn-Sells. The advantage of this is that almost all the metal that remains after combustion can be extracted and reused. This means good resource management and less that is put on landfill.
The cogeneration plant is also an important “kidney” for society. Environmental and health-damaging substances such as cadmium and mercury are disposed of after incineration in a safe manner and reduce the continued spread in society.
