Sweco ambitions clearly visible in its own sustainable operations

No more waste and no more CO2 emissions by 2035; that is Sweco's sustainability goal. This ambition fits our mission;we design and develop the societies and cities of the future. We make this promise to ourselves and to our clients. Every day we help our clients prepare for the problems and challenges of tomorrow. We want to become and remain the most respected engineering firm.

This promise also challenges us to think critically about our own contribution to the future. We have now taken another step in this direction by processing all the organic (separated) waste from the De Bilt location in our own composting machine. The machine has now been in operation for several months and we are very satisfied with the results.

What does the composter do?

The composter converts organic waste to valuable compost within 24 hours.From every kilo of food waste that goes into the machine, only 100 to 150 grams of compost remains. A volume reduction of more than 85%. Currently, we produce about 1 m3 of compost in 5 weeks. The machine works on the basis of a special bacterial culture that is heat, salt and acid resistant. The contents of the tank are heated, which accelerates the extraction of moisture from the mix. Then the bacteria convert all it in 24 hours into dry compost that has only 15 percent of its original volume.

From our own waste we make valuable raw materials

All our biodegradable material, such as coffee grounds, residual waste from the corporate caterer, biodegradable packaging and the GFT waste from the office environment is collected and processed into compost on site. The "waste" is no longer transported to a waste processor. This reduces residual waste, reduces the number of waste containers and saves on transport movements and thus CO2 emissions.  

Our sustainable business practices are visible and benefit everyone

Nothing grows on poor soil, and fertile soil gives us a lot. You yourself have an enormous influence on the operation of the machine. It is your waste streams that are processed. It is important to separate these responsibly so that only those quality ingredients end up in the mix that you will later use, for example, to provide your garden with compost.

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