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A move for recycling

Monday, September 14, 2020

On 19 September the Recycling Barge once again berthed at Sannegårdshamnen. It will be travelling up and down the river according to the timetable until 2 November.

The barge was trialled for the first time in the autumn of 2019 and proved to be very popular. A total of 2500 residents of Gothenburg brought waste to the barge during the autumn. The visitors were very pleased with the solution and wanted to continue using the barge if it becomes a permanent feature.

-“The idea behind the barge is to make recycling easier for residents who live in the centre of Gothenburg and to reduce car use,” explains Peter Årnes, a waste strategist at the Recycling and Water department of the city of Gothenburg. The hope is also that the barge will relieve the pressure on the recycling centre in Högsbo where there are often long queues.

Aim

The Recycling Barge is part of the DenCity project which is managed by CLOSER. The aim is to investigate the requirements for shifting different types of goods flows to waterways and to evaluate the extent to which this takes pressure off the road network.

Almost like a normal recycling centre

The Recycling Barge will accept almost all the waste that a normal recycling centre takes: large items of household waste (combustible and non-combustible), hazardous waste and electronic devices. It also accepts items for reuse in collaboration with Björkåfrihet, a second-hand store chain. But because its capacity is limited, it does not handle white goods, soil or garden waste. However, residents can make as many visits as they want and do not need a recycling (AVC) card.

-“To help prevent the spread of the virus, we will have staff there whose job is to make sure that there aren’t too many people on the barge at once and that they are social distancing,” says Peter Årnes.

A slightly different route

The Recycling Barge will be mooring at four quays this autumn: Eriksbergstorget, Sannegårdshamnen, Stigbergskajen (near Fiskhamnen) and Skeppsbron. The waste will be transported up the river to Marieholm where it will be unloaded. The river has the potential to become a sustainable transport route. The Recycling Barge is a pilot project which is running from 2019 to 2020, after which it will be evaluated. One of the goals of the project is to assess how the river can be developed as a transport route.

Facts:
The Recycling Barge is part of the DenCity 3 project, which is run by CLOSER, the national collaboration platform for increased transport efficiency, at Lindholmen Science Park. DenCity 3 develops innovative solutions for sustainable and space-efficient passenger and freight transport in dense cities to enable us to meet our climate targets and social objectives. The trial of the Recycling Barge is being organised jointly by the Recycling and Water department and the Traffic Administration Office of the city of Gothenburg, Renova, Pråmkompaniet and SSPA, with the support of SuezBjörkåfrihet and Gothia Marine. The project is funded by the partners together with Vinnova and Region Västra Götaland.