Making Waste Worthwhile

international issues has become a major trend of the 21st century, and the growth of global waste is one that has warranted increasing urgency and attention in recent years.

Figures from the World Bank forecast that waste generation will rise 70 percent on current levels to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050, driven by rapid urbanisation and growing populations.

As a result, the need for proper management has become essential in building sustainable communities – a necessity that is being implemented effectively in Iceland by SORPA.

Founded in 1989 as a non-profit municipality-owned firm, SORPA handles the waste for not only Reykjavik city but six key districts around the capital area, standing as a national proponent for the promotion of sustainable living.

Serving this region, the organisation runs its operations from 10 different locations; a receiving station, a charity shop for used household goods, its main office, a landfill site and six different strategically located recycling centres.

“We also operate around 85 drop-off centres for recyclables,” explains Björn Halldórsson, General Manager of the organisation. “When combined, this network allows us to provide a broad range of services, receiving, handling, recycling and disposing of all different kinds of waste.”

With these facilities spanning much of the country’s most populated areas, SORPA caters to the waste management demands of roughly 70 percent of the Icelandic population, encompassing more than 100,000 homes.

With sustainability high on the global agenda, Iceland’s SORPA has emerged as an exemplary figurehead of waste management with its innovative solutions