Kotkan Energia plans waste imports as Finnish supply shrinks

Kotkan Energia is considering importing combustible waste from abroad to fuel its waste-to-energy plant in Kotka, as domestic supplies may not meet future demand, Yle reports.

The company needs waste-derived fuel for its Korkeakoski plant, which burns waste to produce energy, including district heating for Kotka residents. The proposed imports would consist of RDF, a mix of household and business waste, from the EU or Britain.

Contracts with Finnish waste companies expire in 2029. Chief executive Sami Markkanen said the company may no longer be able to secure similar volumes in Finland after that, and foreign waste could eventually account for up to half of the plant’s fuel needs. A decision on imports is expected within a few years.

Imports of waste-derived fuels to Finland have risen sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Pirke Suoheimo, a senior inspector at the Finnish Environment Institute. The increase followed the end of imports of combustible wood waste from Russia. Finland imported 3,000 tonnes of waste-derived fuel in 2021 and 329,000 tonnes in 2024, the highest amount reported in the article.

Waste-derived fuel has been brought to Finland from countries including Poland, Italy and Britain. Suoheimo said Finland needs more heating energy for homes than many other EU countries. Transporting the fuel requires permits from the countries involved, and shipments to Finland almost always arrive by sea.

Kotkan Energia has already tested imported waste in Kotka and says the results have been fairly positive. Markkanen said the company checks the waste’s quality through origin certificates and supplier audits, including visits to the places it comes from. He said the imported waste does not contain hazardous substances.

The company is seeking an environmental permit change so it can store imported waste temporarily at a site in Heinsuo, Kotka. It would need to build a handling hall to help prevent odours, at an estimated cost of about 1.5 million euros. The waste would arrive in bales about one cubic metre in size, wrapped in eight layers of plastic.