Denmark: Municipalities can be front runners in sustainable growth

A municipality can be an exemplary  front runner when it comes to sustainable growth. Naestved, the 5^th largest city in Zealand, Denmark, has proven to be just that. Last year Naestved was featured in Cities100  – amongst 63 cities from all over the world to be one of the most ambitious and innovative examples of climate change solutions.

It is the glass cluster in Naestved City that has placed Naestved on the “climate world map”. The glass cluster was founded by  the glass recycling company Reiling Glasrecycling, the glass production company Ardagh Glass Holmegaard and Naestved Municipality’s environmental initiative Resource City.

The glass cluster is one of Naestved’s best-practice examples of circular economy. It collects and sorts approximately 125.000 tons of glass per year. The glass is then recycled into roughly 700-800 million bottles and jars every year, thereby reducing the need for virgin materials. By doing so they are also reducing 15.000 tons of CO2 emission annually.

It is not just glass

Not only does the glass cluster produce new products form used materials, it also distributes surplus heat from the production to the local district heating grid. By doing this the cluster contributes with approximately 50 % of the district heating in the town Fensmark in Naestved Municipality.

In addition, a biogas plant is being installed to supply the glass cluster with biogas to reduce greenhouse emissions from the current use of natural gas. One of the newest innovations is to turn biproduct glass, that cannot be recycled into new bottles and jars, into cellular glass insulation. Initiatives like this makes the glass cluster innovative and always prepared to seize sustainable growth potentials.

Recycling glass was put into practice in Denmark in the 1970’s – and is now very much part of the Danes’ everyday life.

The municipality as the front runner

Resource City is the centre of circular economy; a cluster of innovation, knowledge and inspiration that sets the framework for sustainable business development in Naestved, Denmark.

As a project organisation in Naestved Municipality, Resource City takes part in the project Baltic Industrial Symbioses that promotes industrial symbiosis, a concept for sustainable regional development, across the Baltic Sea Region. With the knowledge and experience from the best-practice example the glass cluster, Resource City is proud to take part in the capacity building and creating new business opportunities together with the ten other project partners.