The waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy illustrates the priorities in Norwegian waste policy and the EU’s framework directive for waste. Waste must be treated as close to the top of the hierarchy as possible:
- Waste reduction: Prevent waste by buying less, throwing away less and eating up your food.
- Reuse: Use things again.
- Material recycling: Making new products from used resources.
- Energy utilization: Generating electricity and heat. Waste incineration also contributes to the destruction of environmental toxins.
- Landfilling: Put in a waste landfill.
The best thing you can do for the environment is to buy fewer things. If you are going to buy something new, reused items should be preferred, so that their lifespan is extended. Once the item becomes waste, it should be sorted so that it can be recycled into a new product.
Waste reduction
According to the waste hierarchy, the most important measure is waste reduction. At BI, a needs assessment is carried out prior to purchasing, which is in accordance with our current procurement policy:
"An assessment must always be made of the real need and whether it can be solved without increased consumption.”
Reuse
The next measure is to reuse things. BI considers reuse e.g. by reupholstering/repainting furniture and reusing furniture and building materials. When purchasing furniture and other inventory, quality is an important criterion in addition to price. Good quality can prolong the of the product.
When BI no longer can make use for some inventory, but the inventory is still usable, it is given away, for example to camp schools.
For questions about reuse at BI, contact the Eco-Lighthouse Manager Marius Aunaas, marius.aunaas@bi.no.
Material recycling
The next step is for the waste to enter a circular cycle and be reused in new materials. BI aims to achieve 65% material recycling of the waste. Waste that is recycled also generates income. As of 31.12. 2024, BI achieved 52%, while for campus Trondheim alone, the result was 52% as well. Trondheim municipality has no target figures for material recycling.
Campus Trondheim has a common waste room with Brattørkaia 15 (Norwegian Environment Agency). BI’s share of the waste room amounts to approximately 66%.
Campus Trondheim sorts the waste into 19 waste types, and the sorting rate was 59% at the end of 2024, showing that the material recycling rate is not necessarily the same as the sorting rate. This is due to the fact that some sorted waste types are not material recycled today. This is the case for mixed plastic, which is incinerated. It is a goal that the number of waste types that are material recycled will be increased.
A high sorting rate is also good from an economic perspective, since it usually is cheaper to deliver sorted waste compared to not sorted waste. The sorting rate, however, means that still 41% of the waste on Campus Trondheim is generated as residual waste and incinerated (energy utilization). It is therefore also an ambition to reduce the amount of residual waste.