Driving forces for import of waste for energy recovery in Sweden.

Between 1996 and 2002, the Swedish import of so-called yellow waste for energy recovery increased. The import mainly consisted of separated wood waste and mixes of used wood and paper and/or plastics that was combusted in district heat production plants (DHPPs). Some mixed waste was imported to waste incineration plants for energy recovery (10% of the import of yellow waste for energy recovery in 2002). The import came primarily from Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Finland. We identified six underlying driving forces for this recent increase of imported waste which are outlined and their interactive issues discussed. --The energy system infrastructure, which enables high energy recovery in Sweden. --The energy taxation, where high Swedish taxes on fossil fuels make relatively expensive solid biofuels the main alternative for base load production of district heat. --The quality of the waste-derived fuels, which has been higher in the exporting countries than in Sweden. --The bans on landfilling within Europe and the shortage of waste treatment capacity. --Taxes on waste management in Europe. --Gate fee differences between exporting countries and Sweden. In the future, the overall strength of these driving forces will probably be weakened. A Swedish tax on waste incineration is being investigated. In other European countries, the ambition to reach the Kyoto targets and increase the renewable electricity production could improve the competitiveness of waste-derived fuels in comparison with fossil fuels. Swedish DHPPs using waste-derived fuels will experience higher costs after the Waste Incineration Directive is fully implemented. The uncertainty about European waste generation and treatment capacity, however, might have a large influence on the future gate fees and thus also on the yellow waste import into Sweden.