We can only dream of such an effective system in the UK, which is why we end up paying expensive transport costs to send rubbish to be recycled overseas rather than paying fines to send it to landfill under The Landfill Tax of 1996. 

 

Why are we sending waste to Sweden? Their system is so far ahead because of a culture of looking after the environment. Sweden was one of the first countries to implement a heavy tax on fossil fuels in 1991 and now sources almost half its electricity from renewables. 

 

“Swedish people are quite keen on being out in nature and they are aware of what we need do on nature and environmental issues. We worked on communications for a long time to make people aware not to throw things outdoors so that we can recycle and reuse,” says Anna-Carin Gripwall, director of communications for Avfall Sverige, the Swedish Waste Management’s recycling association. 

 

这些年瑞典的环保工作做得太出色了，如今甚至要从其他国家进口垃圾，才能让本国的回收工厂继续运营下去。去年，瑞典送入垃圾场的生活垃圾不足总量的1%，这种情况一直从2011年持续到现在。

如此高效的系统在英国是不可想象的。这就是为什么英国人要花费高昂的运输费，把垃圾送到海外的回收站，因为如果运到本国的垃圾填埋地的话，依照1996年垃圾填埋税就要支付罚款。

 

为什么要把垃圾送到瑞典？因为瑞典人有保护环境的文化传统，所以他们的系统很先进。瑞典是1991年第一批开始对化石燃料征收重税的国家之一。如今该国近一半的电力供应来自可再生能源。

 

瑞典垃圾管理回收协会Avfall Sverige的交流主任安娜•凯琳•格里普沃表示，“瑞典人很喜欢拥抱大自然，也知道采取哪些措施来应对环境问题。长期以来，我们都努力和人们进行沟通，好让他们不在户外乱扔垃圾，这样有利于我们对垃圾的回收和再利用。”

 

英文来源：独立报

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