Norsk Gjenvinning, meaning “Norwegian recycling”, is a privately owned company established in Oslo in 1926. It is one of Norway’s 150 largest companies with about 1,400 employees, 40,000 customers, and a total operating revenue of NOK 4.2 billion (€440m). Norsk Gjenvinning handles about 25% of Norway’s industrial waste, and waste from Sweden, Denmark, and the UK. From the way waste is treated, Norsk Gjenvinning can recycle 85% and resell it as secondary raw materials and fuel to industry in Scandinavia, Europe, and Asia.
Sweeping waste off its feet
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Founded in Oslo 90 years ago by Adolf Jahr, Norsk Gjenvinning has developed from being a local junkyard to an international industrial waste management company worth NOK 6 billion (€630m). Step by step, the system has expanded by including glass bottles in 1930, paper in 1964, and its first sorting facility for industrial waste in 1983. Today, Norsk Gjenvinning is Norway’s largest provider of recycling and environmental services, running 90 facilities throughout Norway. Their services include, for example, recycling of metal, plastics, paper, and glass; treatment of hazardous waste; industrial services and downstream solutions; household rubbish collection; demolition; and environmental restoration. Every year, they treat 1.8 million tonnes of waste and run over 3 million collection trips, fuelled by the circular vision that “waste will be the solution of the resource problems of the future”.
Spotlight on: Øra's new recycling facility
With a wish to build a new cutting-edge recycling facility, Norsk Gjenvinning decided to invest in the Øra region because of its location, with a harbour in the Oslo fjord; the regional multitude of industrial actors and potential partners; and the good cooperation with the local municipalities of Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg. Putting great emphasis on transparency and collaboration with the neighbours of the facility, Norsk Gjenvinning has also prioritised low levels of noise, smoke and odours from the recycling facility. At the centre of the plant is an industrial shredder that receives mainly discarded vehicles. The shredded waste is separated into several fractions, such as aluminium, copper, brass, glass, rubber, steel, etc. Depending on the materials’ qualities they are either sold as secondary raw material or turned into new products (e.g. glass fibre) before being sold. Some waste is also used to produce fuel. Norsk Gjenvinning has high hopes for the future development in the Øra region, for example by increasing vertical collaboration with regional industries along the value chain, as prices of primary raw materials will escalate parallel to the demand for recycled materials.
Eliminating wasteful behaviour
Waste can also come in the shape of disloyalty, corruption, illicit handling, and theft – something Norsk Gjenvinning has spent substantial sums on getting rid of, not only within its own company but in the entire business sector. According to CEO Erik Osmundsen there are two main reasons for their common occurrence: it is too easy to make large amounts of money on irresponsible waste management; and it is an industry where employees are easily led into temptation due to lack of monitoring and follow-ups. Norsk Gjenvinning handled the problem by cleaning up its own house – with 40 concrete actions, new vision and values, amnesty, replacement of almost half of its management, and by building a new culture among staff based on team spirit and pride in one’s work. As a result of these actions, internal costs halved in one year, and both customers and partners have paid tribute to the improved work culture. This indicates that sound values, a sense of community, and belief in what you do are important foundations for good business.
Regional dimension
Located in an industrially dense area of the country, Norsk Gjenvinning’s Øra facility has a large catchment area from which to collect waste and in which to sell recycled material. Nationally, Norsk Gjenvinning plays an environmentally important role as a responsible waste manager, providing upcycled waste as secondary raw material – it is a more sustainable alternative that can take pressure off primary resources from mining, forestry, etc. The company has also improved social and economic sustainability by providing jobs in a circular business model. It is open to new technology and new partnerships, and if supported by improved regional and national policies, it can provide an extensive infrastructure for the societal transition to circularity.
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