Waste management and sorting

We encourage you to recycle.

Waste management and sorting

Your building may have a waste-sorting room, a lean-to or waste bins placed partially underground. Sort the waste carefully into their own bins. In residential buildings, waste is divided into waste to be incinerated, paper, biowaste, cardboard, glass and metal. Waste sorting instructions can be found near the waste bins.

Keep the yard clean. Do not leave rubbish bags or other waste outside the collection points, on the floor or in front of doors. Rubbish left outside the bins attracts rats. The waste transport services will charge users separately for rubbish left outside the bins.

Waste to be incinerated

  • Dirty plastic packaging
  • Small items made of PVC plastic, such as toys, waterproof clothes and plastic-coated tablecloths.
  • Small amounts of polystyrene and urethane blocks
  • Dirty cardboard and paper tableware
  • Used hygiene products
  • Paper towels and napkins
  • Clothes and shoes
  • Dust bags
  • Cat litter and other litter for pets
  • Ash (packed) and cigarette butts
  • Individual filament bulbs and fuses
  • Other non-recyclable waste suitable for incineration
  • Biowaste
  • Food waste
  • Paper bags and newspaper wrappings as packaging for compostable waste
  • Eggshells; fruit and vegetable peelings
  • Waste from cleaning berries, fruit, fish, etc.
  • Coffee grounds and tealeaves with filter papers
  • All dried, spoiled or discarded food
  • Soil, parts of plants, withered flowers
  • Waste from cleaning pets’ cages, such as cutter chips
  • Waste paper
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Flyers
  • Envelopes (with or without plastic windows)
  • Kraft paper
  • You do not need to remove the staples, tape or stickers from the paper
  • Glass
  • Coloured and colourless glass jars and bottles.
  • Rinse the jars and bottles. You do not need to remove the labels and rings.
  • Empty, clean and dry items. Remove the lids and caps.
  • Metal
  • Food cans
  • Small metal items from households
  • Lids and caps
  • Aluminium foil and tins
  • Tealight shells
  • Paint cans
  • Spray bottles

Where do I take other types of waste?

Recoverable waste is delivered to general collection points and hazardous waste to municipal waste collection points for hazardous waste. In addition to this, almost 2,000 large shops that sell electrical appliances and electronics receive scrap electronics at their collection points.

Kierrätys.info is an online service maintained by Suomen Kiertovoima (KIVO). The service can be used to search for information on regional collection points and travelling collections for household waste throughout Finland.

Kierrätys.info is an online service maintained by Suomen Kiertovoima (KIVO). The service can be used to search for information on regional collection points and travelling collections for household waste throughout Finland.

What is hazardous waste?

Hazardous waste includes substances that are very harmful to nature and humans even in small quantities. Hazardous waste must be separated from other waste and taken to the reception points for hazardous waste.

  • Waste oil, oil filters and oil-stained cloths
  • Surplus medications
  • Heavy metal batteries
  • Mercury thermometers
  • Fluorescent tubes and mercury bulbs
  • Start-up batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries (small rechargeable electrical appliances)
  • Paint, adhesives, varnish, solvents
  • Herbicides and pesticides
  • Acids and alkaline substances
  • Impregnating agents and wood treated with them
  • Unidentified chemicals