Remiks i grenseoverskridende samarbeid
Remiks deltar i det anvendte forskningsprosjektet WANO (Waste Management in the High North). Hensikten er samarbeid på tvers av landegrensene.
WANO-prosjektet 2021-2024 er finansiert av Norges Forskningsråd og inkluderer partnerne NORCE, Nordregio, Remiks Miljøpark AS og Hålogaland Ressursselskap IKS (HRS).
The applied research project WANO (Waste Management in the High North) has released a Policy Brief on cross-border business and innovation cooperation in the waste management sector in the Nordic North. The WANO project 2021-2024 is funded by the Norwegian Research Council and includes the partners NORCE, Nordregio, Remiks Miljøpark AS and Hålogaland Ressursselskap IKS (HRS).
The following text will be solely in English
The WANO Project
WANO (Waste Management in High North – new cross-border opportunities) is a research project funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NFR), which runs from 2021 to 2024. WANO focuses on cross-border business and innovation cooperation in the field of waste management, including municipal and industrial waste, in the regions of Troms, Finnmark and Nordland (Norway), Lapland and North Ostrobothnia (Finland) and Norrbotten (Sweden).
WANO identifies key actors, technologies, innovation trends, and cross-border collaboration possibilities in the Arctic waste sector.
WANO examines conditions for creating cross-border business opportunities in the High North through the study of northern Nordic waste management systems.
The Arctic region, characterized by harsh climate conditions, vast distances as well as smaller markets and volumes of waste, emphasizes the need for innovative solutions in the Northern waste management sector.
WANO supports waste management companies in addressing technological challenges of sustainable waste processing including incineration, reuse/recycling, use of energy as well as transport.
The WANO project also recognizes the importance of cooperation with local communities to ensure social acceptance and understanding when it comes to new, innovative waste management processes. Moreover, the project establishes sustainable business-to-business and business-to-research contacts and networks.
Opportunities and challenges of cross-border cooperation
Waste management in the Arctic area is confronted with challenges such as harsh climate, peripheral location and long distances for transport. Increasing the Nordic cross-border cooperation in the waste management sector could, however, open up new possibilities for an effective and sustainable waste management system in the Nordic Arctic region.
The following table summarizes issues analyzed by the WANO project team regarding opportunities and challenges of the waste management in the Nordic north.
Challenges
- Arctic waste management faces the challenge of achieving critical mass in individual locations.
- Long distances between population centers and new solutions for effective and sustainable waste management facilities complicate cooperation and reduce the need to transport waste across long distances outside regional centers/the region.
- Arctic operating environment creates specific technical challenges related to cold climate.
- Changes in the geopolitical situation brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine have stopped the efforts to open cross-border cooperation between Northern Norway and Northwest Russia.
Opportunities
- Sharing of experiences and good practices among the waste management actors and stakeholders in the Nordic Arctic adds to innovative capacity and efficiency of actors, as well as increased competence of staff.
- Cross-border activities enable new solutions to effective and sustainable waste management in the Arctic and reduce the need to transport waste long distances outside the area.
- WANO includes analysis of promising waste management collaboration initiatives such as Rå Biopark to increase the potential for cross-border cooperation, too.
- WANO promotes cooperation between waste operators, technology providers, research institutes and municipalities to create innovation potential for new cross-border collaboration and development.
Would you like to know more?
Read the whole WANO Policy Brief here
