Find Swedish best practice

The village of Kivik in south-east Sweden is where you’ll find the new residential area Tvärpilen, which combines beauty, sustainability and responsibility in perfect harmony.

The Swedish island of Gotland has experienced a severe water crisis in recent years, negatively affecting tourism and local businesses. To address this problem, innovative circular water solutions are being tested and evaluated in the area of Storsudret in southern Gotland.

In Kristianstad, one of the most polluted areas in southern Sweden has been decontaminated as part of a project to achieve a toxin-free environment. Toxins were reduced by 99.9% and the area is now the development site for a new residential district.

The new city district of Oceanhamnen in Helsingborg has created a solution for separating and recovering different kinds of waste water and food waste at source. This leads to sustainable reuse of resources through Sweden’s first recovery plant, Reco Lab.

The Augustenborg district in Malmö was ambitiously rebuilt to manage flooding problems and socioeconomic challenges. As a result of solutions based on ecosystem services, the area is now an attractive neighbourhood and an example of a successful sustainable makeover of an urban district.

A new water purification system uses floating walls, or baffles, to improve purification. The solution has been developed by a Swedish company and can be used in all kinds of dams, for surface or storm water, leachate, industrial water and sewerage water.

District heating, district cooling, electricity and wood pellets in a smart combination for the next generation.

Purification of wastewater in Borlänge

Fågelmyra is Borlänge municipality recycling center. This is where bulky waste is placed. Borlange residents sort their waste into containers or as hazardous waste. All containers are signposted and marked to facilitate the sorting.

Umeå Municipality has a total of 19 wastewater treatment plants. The largest handles waste water from households and various companies in the area. Every year, it receives about 13 million cubic metres of waste water, containing 3,000 tonnes of organic material and 80 tonnes of phosphorus. And every day it produces 23,000 kWh of biogas.

To stop eutrophication of the sea, Gryaab treats the Gothenburg region waste water. The residue, sewage sludge, is turned into soil, fertilizer and a climate-friendly vehicle fuel.

Malmö’s Western Harbour, previously a run-down shipyard and industrial area covering 187 hectares, is now a vibrant ‘city within a city’, with a university, around 10,000 residents and more than 16,000 people working there (figure from 2016). The area has its own systems for managing its energy supply and waste treatment, and car traffic in the area has been minimised as an environmentally sustainable approach to urban planning and mobility.