The Circwaste forerunner municipalities Kuopio, Porvoo and Circwaste partner municipality Pori were recognised in a competition organised by Sitra and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. The competition was looking for the most interesting municipal circular economy solutions. The forerunner municipalities of Rovaniemi, Turku and Jyväskylä received honourable mention in the competition.
Controlling food waste in Pori schools
Pori is trying to systematically reduce the amount of food waste at schools. The city of Pori measures the amount of waste produced when food is served at schools. As a result of the monitoring, the schools order less excess food and are better able to manage consumption. The city sends excess school food to adult social work meeting points and day centres for the unemployed, where clients can take the food home at no charge as food assistance. At the end of 2017, leftover school food was being collected from 12 schools and it was enough for nearly 1,400 food assistance recipients.
Towards resource wisdom in Kuopio
The city of Kuopio has made resource wisdom one of the focus areas in its city strategy. Resource-wise activities strengthen the economy in the city and region and create new jobs. For example, making better use of industrial side streams produces new business opportunities. Services that target new residents, such as city bicycles and lending services, create new business and facilitate ecological choices. The city is also increasing the use of recycled materials in earthworks activities.
Eco act passport encourages Porvoo pupils to make sustainable choices
The environmental team at Porvoo’s Kevätkumpu School has developed an Eco act passport (Ekotapapassi) in which fifth graders record the eco-friendly actions they have done during their leisure time for one week. The acts can be related to recycling, saving energy and consumption. Examples of eco acts include taking glass to the glass recycling bin or switching off unnecessary lights. When carried out each year, the Eco act passport campaign always introduces a new age group to the topic.
More in Finnish