Underground Vacuum System for Waste Collection in Bergen

9 November 2010 A contract has been signed between Envac Norge AS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Envac AB and BossNett AS, a part of BIR AS, which in turn is one of Norway's largest municipal refuse collection companies. BIR is owned by the Municipality of Bergen along with eight other surrounding municipalities. The contract, which is for slightly more than NOK 210 million ($36.3 million), comprises a turnkey underground vacuum system for central parts of Bergen and 10 years operation and maintenance. The installations are designed to serve 7,718 homes in central Bergen and collect waste from an area of just over 800,000 sq m from various types of commercial activities. Three types of waste will be transported in the underground pipe system: residual waste, paper and plastic. The residual waste will be sent for incineration and the paper and plastic will be recycled. The ability to offer the same source-separated waste collection in central Bergen and in the surrounding municipalities has long been high on the list of priorities. However the old city centre has long lacked the storage space for the number of containers that would be required to collect several waste fractions. There has also been a problem with accessibility for refuse collection vehicles in the historically sensitive surroundings. Therefore when the Municipality of Bergen decided to install district heating in the centre of the city it opened up opportunities for coordinating the installation of other modern infrastructure. As well as the installation of district heating and the underground waste transport system from Envac, the water and sewage network is also being renovated and a new tram line is being built. The company says that besides this being its largest single order ever, with 12.4 km of 500 mm diameter piping collecting waste - it is also the largest installation in an existing urban centre in the Nordic countries. The system is expected to be completed in 10 years time. "It is a breakthrough for vacuum waste installations in culturally and historically sensitive inner city environments. We are seeing several other towns and cities in the Nordic countries following this project with interest," says Joakim Karlsson Deputy CEO of Envac Scandinavia AB. "Above all, we are impressed by how the Municipality of Bergen has combined the installation of a vacuum system with other infrastructure initiatives, which both reduce the installation costs and minimise the burden on the city's inhabitants. We expect this type of installation to be carried out in many more towns and cities seeking modern and elegant urban environments and which also wish to avoid handling waste openly on streets and other spaces". Karlsson adds.