Stockholm European Green Capital Lubos Fendrych LubosFendrychstudent uml

Stockholm: European Green Capital Lubos Fendrych Lubos_Fendrych@student. uml. edu Global Studies Program College of Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Some facts • 880, 000 inhabitants but expecting to grow up to one million in 2020 • City built on 14 islands • 40% of area is parks and green areas (the world´s first national city park) • Awarded the EU Green Capital Status in 2010 • The only global city to meet stringent the World Health Organization’s recommended air contaminant standards • Among best cities to live in (health care, education, business environment, the number of sunlight hours, environment)

Do you Fika? A way of life in Sweden • Fika as a noun refers to the combination of coffee and sweet snack • But Fika as a verb means the act of partaking in Swedish social life • “I have learned, over a cup of coffee, for even a brief time to stop doing and to enjoy just being“ (Averbuch, The New York Times, 2013) • Fika philosophy is also reflected in the Swedish approach to the environmental issues

Growing… But sustainably and environmentalfriendly • 30 major urban development project are currently under way (Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm Royal Seaport, etc. ), plans to built 100, 000 new homes by 2030 • The key question is how to reach balance between ensuring that all city services will meet the expectations and requirements of citizens, and, simultaneously, will not endanger both the city´s goal to become fossil-fuel free city by 2030 (2050) and energy efficiency? • The City´s Environmental Programme and Stockholm City Plan=> employing sustainable energy solutions, crafting smart environmental designs adapted to future climate change, and support ecological means of transport

A case study of Hammarby Sjöstad – the first environmental city district • Based on a closed ecocycle where waste and energy use are minimized, and as much as possible is recycled and composted • Half of the overall energy is produced by residents themselves • Renewable fuels, re-use of waste heat, production of biogas from wastewater, household energy efficiency (insulation, solar panels, green roofs, water-saving shower heads) => up to 50% reduction of energy consumption

Towards zero waste • 99 % of all household waste is recycled, ecologically burned, composted or reused, 1% of waste ends up in landfills • recycling stations are as a rule no more than 300 metres from any residential area • Most Swedes separate all recyclable waste in their homes (80% of Swedish population support stringent ecological programs) • A vacuum-powered tubes to transport and collect recyclables and garbage

Waste to Energy • 50% of the household waste is burnt to produce energy at incineration plants – The Högdalen co-generation plant separates combustible waste as an energy source in electricity and district heating production • The remaining ashes which do not burn are sifted to extract gravel that is used in road construction • The smoke from incineration plants consists of 99. 9 per cent non-toxic carbon dioxide

Waste to energy • Sweden has developed a large capacity for efficient and profitable waste treatment (imports 700, 000 tonnes of waste from other countries) • Re-using materials or products means using less energy to create a product, than burning one and making another from scratch • Stockholm households keep separating their newspapers, plastic, metal, glass, electric appliances, light bulbs, batteries, and food waste • Newspapers are turned into paper mass, bottles are reused or melted into new items, plastic containers become plastic raw material; food is composted and becomes soil or biogas through a complex chemical process

District Heating System • Heating plants burn climate-neutral fuels (biofuels, household waste) and produce heating and electricity together (90% of the fuel´s energy can be utilized) • Accounts for almost 80% of total heating needs • Due to the system, emissions of greenhouse gases have decreased by 40% since 1990.

Transportation in Stockholm • The key requirements: a high level of mobility and a low emission level • Congestion charge (up to 10 USD per day) => reduced emissions ( and traffic (around 20%) • Rubbish trucks and all inner city buses are run on recycled electricity, ethanol or biogas • A special focus on cycling and walking mobility • 80% travelers in rush hours use public transport • Walking and cycling comprising 39% of all trips during weekdays, using cars account for 30% • Why Stockholmers are willing to travel by public transport? ! =>

1. Public transport accessibility is exceptionally high 2. Persuasive “pull“ factors (bus corridors, bus rapid transit system, multi-modality, etc. ) 3. Aesthetics of public transport => “the world´s longest art gallery“ decorated with sculptures, paintings, engravings, etc.

Boston and recycling • Residential recycling rate is only on 20% (80% in San Francisco, 60% in Seattle) – Food waste comprises 25% of the current waste stream • 100 cities have curbside collection of organic waste => Boston has only a voluntary programs • Insufficient recycling capacity (the only one industrial scale composter in Marlborough) • Does city of Boston (Massachusetts legislation) do enough to scale up recycling rate? • “Chicken-and-egg“ problem in Boston: cannot begin a massive organic waste diversion program until there is capacity to process it, no company will build a new digester without a guarantee of volume

Boston and recycling • But thing are moving up! => • The Massachusetts Commercial Food Waste Bill: – apply to all institutions producing more than one ton of food waste per week (1, 700 public institutions) – The new legislation enforces to donate the edible food, ship it to an digestion facility, or use it as animal feed – Converted to the law on October, 1, 2014 • State’s overall waste-reduction plan: aims to reduce waste streams by 80% by 2050

References • • OECD Green Growth Studies (2013): Green Growth in Stockholm, Sweden. http: //www. oecd. org/about/publishing/corrigenda. htm The London School of Economics and Political Science. LSE Cities Report. Stockholm: Green Economy leader Report, London, 161 p. Stockholms stad (2013): Stockholm: a sustainably growing city, 46 p. Averbuch, Y. (2013). The New York Times. In Sweden, the Fika Experience. http: //www. nytimes. com/2013/11/13/sports/soccer/in-sweden-the-fikaexperience. html The Swedish Recycling Revolution (2014). https: //sweden. se/nature/the-swedishrecycling-revolution/ Midwest energy news (2013): Is burning garbage green? In Sweden, there is little debate. http: //www. midwestenergynews. com/2013/10/17/is-burning-garbagegreen-in-sweden-theres-little-debate/ Fitzgerald, J. (2013). The Boston Globe. Boston needs to embrace curbside collection of organic waste. http: //www. bostonglobe. com/opinion/2013/09/20/organic-waste-should-recycled -boston/Uz. KGi. Yw. CUDp. CVeat. M 4 Lvk. J/story. html Ritchie, H. (2014). Massachusetts Imposes Ambitious Law to Eliminate Commercial Food Waste. http: //www. sustainablebrands. com/news_and_views/waste_not/hannah_ritchie/ massachusetts_imposes_ambitious_law_eliminate_commercial_foo