Swedes sort their rubbish into about seven streams, and anyone with a kitchen — cabin, apartment, campsite — is expected to join in. The system is also mid-change: the roadside recycling stations many visitors remember stop taking household packaging after 2026.
When you need this
It’s your first evening in a holiday rental and there’s a row of labelled bins under the sink. Or the cabin host has said “take the rubbish with you” and you’re wondering where to. Or you’re at a campsite’s waste shed with one mixed bag, holding a dead battery and an empty jam jar.
The seven streams
Almost every Swedish sorting point is built around the same materials. Learn them once and every kitchen in the country makes sense.
| Stream | Swedish on the lid | What goes in | What doesn’t |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food waste | Matavfall | Scraps, peelings, coffee grounds, cooking oil in a closed bottle if local rules allow | Liquids like milk or juice (pour away) |
| Paper packaging | Pappersförpackningar | Cartons, boxes, paper bags | Newspapers, if there’s a separate bin |
| Plastic packaging | Plastförpackningar | Bottles, tubs, trays, bags, film | Toys, storage boxes, garden furniture |
| Metal packaging | Metallförpackningar | Tins, lids, foil trays | Pant cans (those go back for the deposit) |
| Clear glass | Ofärgat glas | Clear jars and bottles | Drinking glasses, china, light bulbs |
| Coloured glass | Färgat glas | Green and brown bottles and jars | Same as above |
| Residual waste | Restavfall | Everything else: nappies, tissues, broken crockery | Batteries, electronics |
Newspapers and printed paper often have their own bin, tidningar or returpapper — the municipalities have run that collection since 2022, separately from paper packaging. Some bins combine the two; when a lid disagrees with a general guide, including this one, follow the lid.
Packaging must be empty before it’s sorted. A jar with jam in it isn’t glass packaging yet: scrape the food into the food-waste bag first. A quick rinse is a courtesy that stops smells in a warm rental, not a rule.
Food waste: required since 2024
Since 1 January 2024 every household and business in Sweden has had to sort food waste out and keep it apart from other rubbish. That duty sits in the Waste Ordinance and applies to “anyone who has bio-waste” — including you, cooking in a rented kitchen.
In most places that means a brown paper bag in a ventilated holder, closed and dropped in a brown bin. Some municipalities use coloured plastic bags that are sorted optically instead, so use whatever bag the kitchen provides. Don’t put food waste in an ordinary plastic bag where the system uses paper: it contaminates the biogas it is turned into.
A few areas still hold dispensations from separate collection, and the rules for those changed in October 2025. If there’s genuinely no food-waste bin, sort as the local bins allow.
What never goes in a bin
Three things sit outside the household bins entirely:
- Pant containers. Cans and PET bottles carrying the Swedish deposit mark are worth 2–3 kr each back at a supermarket machine. Binning them — even in the correct metal or plastic bin — throws that money away. Our guide to pant and the bottle deposit covers the machines.
- Batteries. Loose single-use batteries go into a batteriholk (battery box), found at recycling points and in many shops. A phone, e-toothbrush or anything else with a dead built-in battery counts as electronic waste in its entirety.
- Other hazardous and bulky items. Electronics, light bulbs, chemicals and anything too big for a bin go to the municipal återvinningscentral (recycling centre). If you’re a visitor, ask the host rather than driving around with it.
Where the bins are: the 2024–2027 change
This is where most English-language guides are out of date.
For decades, packaging went to the återvinningsstation: a row of igloos and containers in a supermarket car park, run by the producers’ organisation FTI. That arrangement ended on 1 January 2024, when the municipalities took over packaging collection and FTI was wound down. Most municipalities kept the stations running for now, and the national portal sopor.nu replaced FTI’s station finder.
The stations have an end date, though:
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2024 | Municipalities take over packaging collection; food-waste sorting mandatory |
| 1 October 2025 | “Property-close” defined in law: at the building, or at most 400 m from the property boundary |
| 1 January 2026 | Municipalities must offer packaging bins at squares, parks and other popular places |
| 31 December 2026 | Last day stations may serve households for everyday packaging |
| 1 January 2027 | Paper, plastic, metal, clear and coloured glass must be collected at or near every home |
From 2027, the stations that remain are meant for bulky paper, cardboard and plastic packaging — the big box a new chair came in. For you, that means the bins at your accommodation should increasingly take everything, and the station you remember from a trip a few years ago may have been removed or repurposed. Sparsely populated areas and properties without a passable road can use an agreed pick-up point further away, so a remote cabin may still share a bin stand down the lane.
Cabins, campsites, rentals and hotels
How much sorting you do depends on where you stay:
| Where you stay | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Apartment or house rental | Sorting bins in the kitchen and a soprum (waste room) or miljöhus (waste shed) outside; follow the house instructions |
| Holiday cabin | Often no collection at the house at all; many rental terms make taking the rubbish away the guest’s job — sorted |
| Campsite | A waste station by reception or the service building; bring rubbish there sorted |
| Hotel | Sorting happens behind the scenes; use the room bin and nothing more is expected |
| Wild camping or a hike | No bins — carry everything out |
The cabin case catches people out most often. Ask the host on arrival where the nearest bins or station are, keep a bag for pant from day one, and read our guide to what a Swedish cabin expects for the rest of the departure routine. At a Swedish campsite the waste station is part of what you pay for; use it rather than the bin at the lay-by.
Littering: an 800 kr fine
Dropping litter outdoors where the public has access or can see it is forbidden under the Environmental Code. For minor cases the police can issue an on-the-spot fine (ordningsbot) of 800 kr, and since 1 January 2022 that has explicitly included small litter: cigarette butts, chewing gum and sweet wrappers. More serious littering, such as dumping, is a criminal offence punishable by fines or up to a year in prison.
One version surprises visitors: a bag left beside a full container at a recycling station is littering too. If the bin is full, take the bag with you.
Mistakes to avoid
- Food waste in a plastic bag where the system uses paper.
- A drinking glass or light bulb in glass recycling — only jars and bottles count.
- Plastic toys or boxes in plastic packaging — packaging only.
- Pant cans in the metal bin — right material, lost deposit.
- Clear and coloured glass mixed in the same slot.
- Relying on a station you remember — after 2026 many take only bulky packaging.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sorting, bins, stations, battery boxes | Free for the visitor (paid through the host’s waste fee) |
| Minor littering fine (ordningsbot) | 800 kr |
| Serious littering | Fines or up to one year in prison, set by a court |
| Deposit lost per binned pant can or bottle | 2–3 kr |
| Local rules and station finder | sopor.nu |
| Deposit returns | pantamera.nu |
FAQ
How do you sort trash in Sweden?
Separate food scraps into a food-waste bag, then packaging by material: paper and cardboard, plastic, metal, clear glass and coloured glass. Newspapers often have their own bin. Everything left is residual waste. Cans and PET bottles carrying the pant mark go back to a supermarket machine for the deposit, and batteries go in a battery box, never the bin.
Is it mandatory to sort food waste in Sweden?
Yes. Since 1 January 2024 every household and business must sort food waste out and keep it apart from other rubbish, under the Waste Ordinance. That includes a visitor cooking in a rental. A few municipalities hold dispensations from separate collection, so if there is no food-waste bin, follow the local instructions. Cooking oil counts as food waste.
Where can I find a recycling station in Sweden?
Use sopor.nu, the national waste portal, or ask the host. Be aware that stations are being repurposed: they may take household packaging only until 31 December 2026, and from 2027 municipalities must collect packaging at or near every home instead. A station remembered from an earlier visit may have closed or now take only bulky packaging.
What do I do with rubbish when leaving a holiday rental?
Follow the host’s instructions. Where the property has collection, sort into its bins. At many holiday houses collection is not organised and taking the rubbish away is the guest’s job — sorted, with pant returned to a supermarket machine. Never leave bags beside a full container: that counts as littering.
Where do batteries go in Sweden?
Loose single-use batteries go into a battery box (batteriholk) — look for them at recycling points and in many shops. Products with a built-in rechargeable battery, such as a phone or electric toothbrush, count as electronic waste in their entirety and go to the municipal recycling centre. Batteries never belong in any household bin, including residual waste.
What is the fine for littering in Sweden?
Minor littering outdoors can bring an on-the-spot fine (ordningsbot) of 800 kr from the police, and since 2022 that includes small items such as cigarette butts and chewing gum. More serious littering, such as dumping, is a criminal offence punishable by fines or up to a year in prison under the Environmental Code.
Related guides
- Pant: how the bottle deposit works — getting the 2–3 kr back on every can
- What a Swedish cabin expects from you — the full departure routine, rubbish included
- Swedish campsites — where the waste station is part of the deal
- Swedish supermarkets — where the pant machines stand
- Wild camping in Sweden — no bins in nature, so everything leaves with you
Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: Naturvårdsverket (the Swedish EPA), Åklagarmyndigheten, Avfall Sverige and sopor.nu, Pantamera — full register in this topic’s source file. Local bin systems differ by municipality and are changing through 1 January 2027; the lid is always the final word. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.