Kristianstad, a town in Sweden with a population of around 80,000, tends to be known for its production of Absolut Vodka. But, this just in – it’s now known for something else – something in addition to vodka that keeps you warm in the winter.
Kristianstad has been using waste products to produce the heating for the town and surrounding area. The area is a region that serves as a hub for farming and food processing, and thus has a wide variety of waste scraps to choose from – not limited to potato peels, old cookies, animal intestines and more.
The process involves converting the waste into biogas, and then burning the gas to produce heat and electricity, or refining it, for fuel for cars.
While biofuel is becoming more and more common, Kristianstad is such an impressive example because virtually all of the energy in the area comes from waste, rather than oil or natural gas. Plus, being in Sweden and all, it’s quite cold in the winter. The municipality reckons it saves $3.8 million a year in heating costs. That’s huge!
(Spotted in the New York Times)
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
