There are a total of approximately 19,000 single-family and semi-detached properties in Pori, Ulvila, Nakkila and Harjavalta that are subject to the biowaste collection obligation. Slightly more than half of these compost their own biowaste and the rest use the collection center's empty biowaste container. Some composters use the biowaste container in the winter, and some, after trying composting for a year, have found it challenging and have switched to using the biowaste container entirely. There are over 9200 biowaste containers in the eight municipalities in the collection center's area, which were emptied a total of over 170,000 times during 2025.
The amount of biowaste collected by the collection center last year was approximately three million kilograms. The biowaste is delivered to Gasum Oy's biogas plant in Honkajoki, where it is processed into biogas and fertilizer. Biogas production can replace imported fuels such as natural gas and promote Finland's self-sufficiency and security of supply. Gasum reports that this amount of biogas produced can be used to drive a passenger car for approximately 4,380,000 kilometers. In addition, the recycled nutrients generated in biogas production can be used to grow grain to the extent of approximately 3,6 million rye breads.
The collection center's logistics manager, Jouni Kaiku, says that the emptying of biowaste has generally gone well. "The fluctuating winter weather at the beginning and end of the year has caused challenges for biowaste collection. When the temperature fluctuates between plus and minus, moist biowaste easily freezes to the bottom or edges of the container. This can prevent the container from being emptied properly," Kaiku says. It is important to keep biowaste as dry as possible by absorbing liquids, for example, in kitchen paper or newspaper. A paper biowaste bag has proven to be the most effective for packaging biowaste.
The large amount of biowaste collected has surprised many now that sorting has become routine for many. The amount of mixed waste in households has decreased, and the diversion of biowaste for recovery is seen as encouraging. Although sorting has become established for many, there are still households where the potential for biowaste recovery is not used. “Some of the biowaste bins are emptied and the bin is empty. So biowaste is not sorted, but ends up in mixed waste,” says Kaiku.
Like biowaste, packaging waste also has significant potential for recovery, which is realized when the waste is sorted. The collection center's packaging waste containers, i.e. plastic, cardboard, metal and glass packaging containers, were emptied a total of more than 156,000 times during 2025. The sorted packaging waste ends up as raw material for new products. Cardboard is recycled from recycled fiber into new cardboard, for example, for making toilet paper rolls, and recycled plastic can be used to make cleaning tools, among other things.
For more information:
Jouni Kaiku
Keräämö Oy, Logistics Manager
phone: 050 341 4430
email: jouni.kaiku@keraamo.fi
www.keraamo.fi
