Businesses cost Vaasa waste company 260,000 euros a year

Some businesses in the Vaasa region are taking commercial waste to Stormossen’s recycling stations as household waste to avoid fees, leaving the company with estimated annual losses of 260,000 euros, Yle reports.

“The fees paid by businesses are meant to cover the cost of handling the waste they bring us. Now some of them have paid nothing, and private households have paid for everything,” Stormossen chief executive Antti Hakola said.

A recycling station is a sorting point where waste is directed for reuse or recycling rather than landfill. Household visits are often free or cheaper than visits by businesses. Stormossen charges households a monthly basic fee of 6.26 euros, which helps cover the stations’ costs.

Stormossen began investigating after reviewing station visits in the spring. Customers need to show a card to enter, and some cards had been used several times a week. Some stations have staff on site, while others allow entry by card.

Other waste companies report occasional cases

Yle asked Stormossen and seven other waste companies about the practice. Almost all said they had encountered minor misuse or attempts to pass off business waste as household waste, but the other companies described it as a small problem.

Southwest Finland Waste Management said customers occasionally identify waste as household waste even when it appears to come from a business. The company said this is rare and that it asks customers to clarify where the waste came from. Pirkanmaa Waste Management said staff may ask about waste that differs from household waste in type or quantity, and may charge the business the hazardous-waste rate.

Helsinki Region Environmental Services said business owners sometimes claim hazardous waste comes from a household, even though households can dispose of it for free and businesses must pay. Rosk’n’ Roll said it had not observed misuse in western and eastern Uusimaa.

Kiertokapula said it had not identified clear cases of misuse, but intervenes when a company vehicle is used to bring in household waste. Lakeuden Etappi said business owners sometimes bring household waste to its stations, often through thoughtlessness. Ekorosk said it occasionally encounters misuse but would not comment on its scale.

Stormossen to limit household visits

Stormossen is limiting household visits to ten per year. Each additional visit will cost 22.50 euros, half the fee businesses pay per visit.

Under the law, waste companies must provide services to households and municipalities, while businesses must arrange their own waste disposal. If there is no local company that accepts business waste, the municipal waste company must take it. Businesses generally pay more than households.

Ilkka-Pohjalainen first reported the misuse at Stormossen’s recycling stations.