Stricter regulatory requirements increase the need for waste analyses

As regulations become stricter, knowledge must keep pace. Waste analyses not only provide the documentation required by authorities but also form the basis for targeted measures that reduce residual waste and increase material recycling.

Alongside increasing ambitions for material recycling and a more circular economy, stricter requirements are being imposed on how municipalities and waste operators manage, document, and report waste. This is clearly reflected in the tightening of the Waste Regulations in recent years. At the beginning of 2025, new provisions were introduced regarding the sorting of additional waste fractions and the establishment of specific target requirements for sorting rates. The Waste Regulations also include a documentation requirement (§ 10a-7), which obliges municipalities to maintain an overview of—and be able to document—the achieved sorting rates each year.

Waste analysis as a key

Changes in the Waste Regulations create a new need for fact-based knowledge about what is actually being discarded—and, importantly, where it is being discarded.

Waste analyses are a highly effective tool for gaining insight into the composition of different waste fractions.

In a waste analysis, a practical deep dive into the waste is conducted—bags are opened, and the waste is sorted into different categories. When the waste samples are based on a representative selection, it becomes possible to determine the proportion of correctly sorted waste and what ideally should have been sorted into another fraction. The findings provide a data foundation that can be monitored over time through regular analyses.

Not only are waste analyses an excellent method for meeting documentation requirements, they also serve as a key to identifying opportunities for improvement. A waste analysis can provide the necessary starting point for targeted improvement measures, which in turn can increase material recycling and reduce incineration costs by lowering the proportion of residual waste.

In other words, it is no coincidence that the Norwegian Environment Agency recommends that municipalities conduct waste analyses regularly.

Norwaste strengthens its focus on waste analyses

As a consulting firm with extensive experience in the waste sector, Norwaste has in recent years established itself as a key player in waste analyses. We have conducted analyses across large parts of the country—from Helgeland in the north to Lister in the south—and we are seeing increasing demand for our waste analysis services. 

An increasing number of waste companies are seeking long-term collaborations to ensure continuous documentation and improvement. Norwaste holds framework agreements with several inter-municipal companies for waste analyses and has recently signed a framework agreement with ROAF. 

We find it particularly interesting to collaborate closely with a pioneering company like ROAF, with its advanced post-sorting facility, says team leader Emma Rennan.

At the same time, we are seeing growing interest from the private sector, with more businesses seeking better insight into their own waste. Norwaste assists commercial actors in mapping their waste, and for customer-facing businesses, we have conducted analyses, mapping, and provided guidance related to customer waste. The analyses are intended to provide companies with a solid basis for decision-making in their sustainability and improvement efforts.

While waste analyses of household and commercial waste provide important insights for improvement efforts, litter analyses represent a natural extension. Norwaste has conducted such analyses at collection points, along roads, and in an ongoing project at Norwegian rest areas. The litter analyses provide valuable knowledge about where waste ends up and form an important basis for assessing the effectiveness of existing solutions and targeting future measures.