Waste management in the northern latitudes is often more challenging than in the more central regions. Under the Arctic climate conditions with large distances between settlements and to the recycling facilities, and relatively smaller markets and volume of produced waste, there are special needs for developing new innovative solutions for waste management. 

WANO focuses on cross-border business and innovation cooperation in the field of waste management, including municipal and industrial waste, in the regions of Troms, Finnmark and Nordland (Norway), Lapland and North Ostrobothnia (Finland) and Norrbotten (Sweden). The project identifies key actors, technologies, innovation trends, and cross-border collaboration possibilities in the Arctic waste sector.

Among the lessons learned so far which are highlighted in this policy brief are that waste management in Norway has already taken important steps to promote innovation and cooperation but that there is a demand for additional knowledge-based expertise among the waste management actors in north Norway. Cross-border initiatives are welcomed in north Norway by the actors. The big hindrance seems to be “know-who”: the Norwegian actors need more information about the actors across the border in north Finland and north Sweden.