the swedes and their garbage - ltu.se

A reseArch-mAgAzine from LuLeå university of technoLogy

2September 2007

The Swedes and their garbage

Yo u h o l d i n Y o u r h a n d S a copy of Good Technology, a magazine about Luleå University of Technology (Luleå tekniska universitet, LTU).

It contains articles about the many research activities going on at LTU, which will hopefully give you an idea of the breadth and depth of our university today.

Technical research – in operation since the LTU was founded – continues to dominate. New niches in the humanities/social sciences, such as management, e-commerce, education, health care, music and the media, have started.

Our philosophy is to connect technology from other perspectives – for example, home medical care with the help of IT support, educa-tion within the natural sciences and technology, technological solutions for environmental issues as well as an economic and legal perspective, and bringing highly technical and artistic quality to the new digital media.

The core goals of Luleå University of Techno-logy are to develop a knowledge base and provide training that reflects the needs of our surrounding society. To achieve these goals we have assembled multiple disciplines into an environment where they can work together cooperatively.

We endeavour to be one of the top universi-ties within our specializations. It’s difficult becau-se competition is hard and will certainly become harder in the future. Obviously, we are not alone

in our belief towards the future path that we are creating – it shows in our satisfied students and the more and more applicants who designate Lu-leå University of Technology as their first choice on their national university applications.

In this issue of Good Technology, you can among other things read an interview with professors Lars Stehn and Thomas Olofsson, both active in one of the most expansive industries in Sweden and Europe today, the building industry. The research and development done in this area is for most part being conducted at universities and colleges, and Luleå University of Technology has placed itself in front when talking about customer adapted building. Another “successful industry” is Swedish mining-industry, where yet another one of our professors, geologist Pär Weihed, is together with his colleagues busy pre-paring the new Swedish mine research program.

But Luleå University of Technology is not only “hard technology” – our faculty of arts and sciences contributes with research concerning e-health and entrepreneurship. In this issue, you can read some of the reasons why wind power still makes up an exceedingly small part of the total electricity production in Sweden, and we tell you what actually are the driving forces that makes millions of Swedes sort their garbage everyday.

W e l c o m e T o a n e W i S S u e of Good Technology!

A D D R E S S Luleå University of Technology

Info/Good Technology

S-971 87 Luleå, Sweden

F A X +46 920 49 17 62

E D I T O R

A N D P U B L I S H E R

Lena Edenbrink

+46 920 49 16 22

[email protected]

4F o r m o r e a n d m o r e p e o p l e , wind power stands out

as a functioning alternative source of energy, but why is it taking so

long to build? Is the explanation in the Swedish environmental legis-

lation or is it about our own attitudes? Researchers Maria Pettersson

and Kristina Ek investigate some question marks.

7T o W o r k W i T h p r a c T i c a l r e S e a r c h where the

experience and knowledge of the participants and researcher are

used together and theories are then generated from the practice, this

is a way of working that has followed Ewa Gunnarsson, professor in

Gender, Man and Machine, during the course of the year.

10T h e m a j o r i T Y o F T h e r e S e a r c h conducted within

the building industry is at universities and colleges. With their col-

leagues in Luleå, professors Lars Stehn and Thomas Olofsson have

together taken a leading position in the research, amongst others

within the area called customer-adapted building.

20– a l l W h o u S e , for example, automobiles, trains, air travel,

undergrounds, make-up, computers, televisions and stereo systems

should give a thought to where the base products in them actually come

from – and what we would do if they could not be produced, says

professor Pär Weihed.

nr 02September 2007

4

20

7

10

T E X T Lena Edenbrink

P H O T O Nicke Johansson

(if photo credit not

otherwise shown)

T R A N S L AT I O N S Wayne Chan

D E S I G N Norma Communication AB

GOOD TECHNOLOGY is a magazine that reports on

Luleå University of Technology´s research. The magazine

is published two to three times per year in Swedish,

including one issue per year published in English with

articles from the Swedish editions. The circulation of

this issue is 3.500. Articles are prepared in collabora-

tion between researchers and the editorial staff.

S U B M I S S I O N S

Material may be submitted

via e-mail. Material submitted

may be edited for content

and length.

P R I N T I N G

GTC, Luleå

ISSN 1654-093X

2 good technology 02|2007 good technology 02|2007 3

a F T e r T h e o i l c r i S i S o F T h e 1 9 7 0 S , the goal of the Swedish government’s energy policy has been to increase the use of renewable energy sources. With the help of new taxes and subsidies, Swedish wind power is presently a competitive alternative compared to other energy sources. With subsidies and taxes reductions, elec-tricity from wind power costs 20-23 öre/kilowatt-hour (kWh) to produce. Notwithstanding the good economic conditions and the government’s high objectives, Sweden is being literally left behind by many other EU countries; for example, Denmark and Germany have a greater wind power expansion than Sweden.

But why is this?– In Sweden, establishing wind power is regarded as any other activity, while in countries such as Germany and Denmark, there are specially written laws that exist to facilitate wind power expansion or renewable energy in general, says Maria Pettersson, researcher in jurispru-dence at Luleå University of Technology.

– Sweden’s environmental law is generally written,

meaning that various “green” interests bump heads with each other. For example, the building of a wind power station, considered in itself environmentally friendly, goes against the argument for preservation of a natural area.

Preservation of the landscape’s appearance is perhaps the biggest stumbling-block associated with establishing wind power, in any case for those living in the immedia-te surroundings. How many times could we not follow the debate through television and various local newspa-pers where irritated residents opposed the establishment with arguments of spoiled views and increased noise?

– The lone citizen has strong legal support for this type of argument. Unlike, for example, mineral deposits and road construction, the government cannot expro-priate, in other words force the release of land for wind power establishment, which further supports lone oppo-nents of wind power.

At the same time, people will, of course, have the right to express their opinions on wind power in their sur-rounding area, and attitudes to wind power have shown to be more positive the more influence the local

power against Wind poWer

P h o t o : N i c k e J o h a N s s o N

R e s e a R c h : P a t R i k W i l h e l m s o N ,

o l o v s t R ö m , a N d e R s P e t t e R s s o N

a N d F R e d R i k N o R d b l a d

FACTS

Sweden had 700 wind power station in 2005 •

0,6 per cent of• Sweden’s total electricity production (150 terrawatt-hours) comes from wind power (Denmark 20 per cent)

10 TWh wind power (government’s goal) is equivalent to approximately 4.000• wind power stations

one nuclear reactor phase-out at Barsebäck is equivalent to the effect from 3.700• wind power stations

83% of the Swedish people want Sweden to concentrate on • renewable energy sources

Source: SIFO, April 2006

According to a government decision, the goal is for Sweden to increase it´s percentage of wind power from the present 0,7 terrawatt-hour (TWh) to 10 TWh by 2015. And despite eight of the countries most electric intensive companies, among them Boliden and LKAB, having recently decided to concentrate on their “own” wind power and despite several wind power parks being under construction around the country, the expansion is going very slow. The fact is that Denmark has much more wind power than Sweden – but why? Are the conditions for wind power better in Denmark than in Sweden? Is the interest in green energy larger there than here? Or do Danish politicians have a greater knowledge of wind power than their Swedish counterparts?

good technology 02|2007 54 good technology 02|2007

people have. Yet, it has also been shown that a large influence from the citizens can lead to wind power being placed in less than ideal locations, and then suddenly one is left with a wind power that is both ineffective and take up a lot of space.

– Not even at the municipal level does wind power give any special advantages. The building of a wind po-wer station is placed on par with the building of whiche-ver industry building. The reason is project and building laws that give municipal leaders lots of opportunities to put a stop the establishment within the municipality, says Maria Pettersson.

– A solution would be that parliament and the govern-ment classified the area as a so-called national interest for wind power. This means that the area is considered to be particularly suitable for wind power, making it legally easier for the developer/investor to push through the building.

An example of this is the establishment of 48 wind power stations near Alavattnet north of Strömsund in Jämtland. The construction will be one of Sweden’s largest wind power parks and will produce approximately 0,3 TWh of electricity, equal to household electricity for 60.000 houses per year.

What can therefore be done to overcome the slow development of wind power?According to Maria Pettersson, one might consider the government getting increased influence over the new es-tablishment of wind power parks, such as through work with designating national interests. Perhaps the point of view of each municipal resident could be decided without them knowing beforehand if they will affect the establishment or not.

– One way to get away from the argument concer-

ning the spoiled appearance of the landscape and land usage disputes can be to build wind power parks out to sea. It is certainly more expensive than building on land, but disputes with the local residents and municipalities to a greater extent are avoided.

Kristina Ek, who conducts research in economics at LTU, has studied how Swedes think regarding wind power in general and the influence on our environment in particular.

– In general, the public is positive; what determines the attitudes is mostly if and how the appearance of the landscape will be affected. In the questionnaire included in my research report, the answers show that the majority prefer wind power stations out to sea rather than land, the exception being coastal and mountain areas, which most consider important to maintain untouched. Also, the size of the parks has meaning, with small parks being preferred to large parks, while single windmills should be avoided, says Kristina Ek.

One of the determining factors in the general view towards wind power is about noise. The noise level from a wind power station, in other words a single windmill, is around 40 decibels, as much noise as a new freezer emits. Electricity prices today are approximately 45 öre/kWh and among those who answered the questionnaire, many could consider paying up to 15 öre more if the electri-city came from a wind power.

– The opposite was also there. Some wanted the price of electricity to drop by 10 öre for them to consider wind power. House owners want, to a higher extent than people with other forms of housing, that the political establishment decide which energy law the electricity will be produced from – not the individual consumer.

Not everyone is so privileged to have the opportunity to combine his or her knowledge, interests and specialities in their daily work. Most of us use some of our knowledge and competence at work, and get the chance to express the rest in our free time.Ewa Gunnarsson, professor in Gender, man and machine, says that she gets to use all the gifts in her repertoire during work hours. This, amongst other things, is thanks to the interdisciplinary arena the Department of Human worksciences, an open environmental that fits her and her background.

When reality determines direction


preservation of

the landscape’s

appearance is

perhaps the biggest

stumbling-block

associated with

establishing wind

power, in any case

for those living

in the immediate

surroundings.


a l r e a d Y W h e n T h e p r o F e S S o r

in Gender, man and machine was to be appointed the first time, Ewa Gunnars-son was amongst the applicants. She was then ranked number two, something that in hindsight was rather good according to her.

– My daughter was still little at the time, and it would have been difficult for our lives to work around this, since I lived both in Stockholm and here in Lu-leå, says Ewa Gunnarsson when we meet the day after her homecoming from a two week visit to India together with a number of research colleagues.

– It’s a little different this time; my daughter is 20 and I find myself at a stage in life when I can devote precisely the amount of time I want to research and other work.

Ewa Gunnarsson has an education in design architecture and a Master’s degree in ergonomics. And even since the 1970s, she has worked with something called interactive research – research conducted together with and not “on” people, their daily lives and reality.

– It’s about working with applied research where the participants’ and the researcher’s experience and knowledge are put to use, and then generating theo-ries from the practice.

As mentioned, Ewa Gunnarsson has worked this way even since the end of the 1970s, when she was affiliated to the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health and entered a project concerned with terminal work and the changes many women experienced when their work became computerised. Several years later, she was involved in a project at the then National Institute for Working Life about how the work of graphic artists changed and how their professional knowledge could be protec-ted when the printing industry changed over to new technologies.

In both of these projects, a close coo-peration exists with practitioners (check Swedish word), those who conducted the work and trade-union organisations. This means a continuous change process, where the results come from conver-sations, discussions and factual studies inplemented and tested in reality.

Much of the research moved to the

academy at the end of the 1980s and Ewa Gunnarsson was offered to transfer her doctoral studies to Department of Human Work Sciences at Luleå University of Technology. Her Ph.D. thesis was about women brytare at Saab’s body workshop and technical department at the plant in Trollhättan. After she defended her thesis, Ewa worked at Stockholm University’s Centre for Gender Studies, as assistant di-rector led the research project ”Maskuli-niteter i rörelse” (“Moving masculinities”) where a part of the project was concerned with IT, new forms of organisation and constructions of masculinity (check).

But back to LTU, the Department of Human work sciences and the new division for Gender and technology that Ewa Gunnarsson is responsible for and continues to build up together with an-

other “gender professor”, Ulf Mellström.– Since I’ve been an Assistant Profes-

sor at Luleå for many years, I already had a number of Ph.D. students there and I know the department and many of my co-workers. And the same back, of course, they knew me, my background and my research.

When Ewa Gunnarsson was hired, one of the projects in progress was run by colleague Maria Udén, who had worked together with a women Sámi network. Researchers and the women reindeer herders have developed an ex-citing discovery, a wireless network that makes it possible for them to communi-cate via Internet.

– The distances are long in the moun-tains and the possibility to communicate is limited. This discovery can work, of course, in other places in Sweden, Euro-pe and the world. Ann-Christine Haupt, who works at the university library, has made a film about the project, which we took with us to India and showed the women at the village we visited. Those who had in part the same problem with reaching each other over large distances thought that film was “very interesting”.

“IT for Change” is the name of the organisation that Ewa Gunnarsson and her colleagues cooperate with in India, an organisation that works with only policy questions as well as practical tech-nology development. In the project “Lyf-tet” (“The boost”), researchers examine Swedish innovation policy and who defines both it and the term innovation itself. In another project, Gunnarsson and her department have been assigned by Vinnova to examine how the various

– Luleå was, as I mentioned, not entirely new, since I had been assistant here at the univer-sity for a number of years, but the fact that I now get the chance of an everyday life without a big city perspective was also attracting.

Vinnväxt projects around Sweden live up to the gender perspective that financiers demand.

B u T e W a G u n n a r S S o n ’ S ex-perience and knowledge of how we organise our work is also used internally at Luleå University of Technology.

The recently formed Faste Laboratory – also-called Excellence Center – have invited Ewa Gunnarsson to, with her help, try and get more women into its activities.

– What I can contribute with is to try and get those who work at the Faste Laboratory to get a completer picture of reality; they contribute with their own experiences and it’s them who pull, they have to drive the work forward. There is a lot of wisdom in the group and even a real desire to change the existing structure, which is a good prerequisite for the work to be successful. The relative under-ranking of women and the relative over-ranking of men are certainly a fact, while it, according to Ewa Gunnarsson, is a ranking often created in the interplay.

– There can sometimes be something to win by consciously under and over-ranking themselves, to be aware of it and thereafter react. To be the under-ranked, the weak, can be a success factor in certain environments and situations, as being the one who take the initiative and always goes first.

After having been in a big city environ-ment and close to power essentially her entire professional career, Ewa Gunnarsson did not hesitate to apply for the position of professor when it was re-posted.

– Luleå was, as I mentioned, not entirely new, since I had been assistant here at the university for a number of years, but the fact that I now get the chance of an everyday life without a big city perspective was also attracting. The geographical distances can certainly feel long, at the same time very close between people in a way that you don’t find in large cities.

– Since I have an interdisciplinary background with a strong sociological focus, I feel at home here at the depart-ment. There is space here and I feel that I can seriously use all my knowledge and in some way tie it all together.


Most people know that there is an explosion of building going on in large parts of Sweden and not the least in Norrbotten. However, it might come as a surprise to many that the country’s universities and colleges are conducting the majority of research and development occurring within the building industry. Contrary to many other industries, the extent of research depart-ments in large building companies is very low. This implies, of course, a unique opportunity to be part of and formulate research questions as well as affect the approach to the problem – something amongst others that professor LarsStehn and professor Thomas Olofsson put to use.

Simulated realityT o G e T h e r W i T h 50 colleagues from the Division of Structural engineeringat the Department of Civil mining andenvironmental engineering, they have built up one of LTU’s most successful re-search environments. It isn’t only about customer adapted building, but also further education of actors operating on the building market, and more traditional strength and construction technique.

Today, everything can essentially be si-mulated in our computers – an example is the entire city of Kiruna, which must shortly begin a moving adventure of size that is seldom seen.

And it is there where we start our conversation with both professors Lars Stehn and Thomas Olofsson in the wonderful world of computer simulation and in what has been named customer adapted building.

– We can simulate how, for example, a bungalow will look with the hall-way, bedroom, kitchen, living room and all other living spaces. We enter in

all known information and can then walk around the home and “uncover” something like a beam sitting wrong so that you hit your head when walking down the stairs, that the wires have to be pulled at strange angles because they come up against a wall or something similar, says Thomas Olofsson.

– Today, I know that a building company has at least such selling models when they sell a flat; the prospective buyers get a much clearer picture of how the flat will look rather than what is inferred from a more traditional drawing. You have to be accustomed to building drawings to interpret them into your own images of how it will really look; with simulations, it becomes much easier.

– A building permit application can eventually be treated much faster than today, says Lars Stehn.

– With help of the simulation model, officials who will evaluate the applica-tion can see exactly how the suggested addition, rebuilding or new building will

look, as well as in relation to the existing settlement.

The fact that this type of visualisation technique already exists and the in-creased customer focus that the building industry is betting on indicates that this will become more the rule than the exception within a few years. Three-di-mensional CAD models are used already throughout the country, for example the building of MK 3, the new pellets pro-duction in LKAB’s mine in Malmberget. Here, the building itself is simulated; the various working shifts and entrepreneurs can follow the building, see in which order the building is proceeding and thus also know exactly when one or another delivery or work effort must be done.

In the EU project InPro – Informa-tion Process – LTU is the only Swedish university participating together with four large building companies.

– The project integrates design and production, which among other things leads to higher effectiveness. And



time is like known money, the building project is costly and rendering it more efficient means lower costs at the end for both those who build and those who buy.

The Division for Structural engi-neering where Lars Stehn and Tho-mas Olofsson are active – Olofsson as division head and professor in structural engineering and Stehn as head of re-search and professor in wood structures – and to say the least fortunate; one can say that most things are going their way and be naturally curious as to what they think this is due to.

– I think that it’s partly due to us historically operating within an esta-blished scientific area, while we have now taken another step and ended up slightly outside the academic world. The companies that we have cooperated with for many years want help with different types of problems, and we have been able to deliver solutions, says Lars Stehn.

– I mean it like this; we might begin cooperation with a building company for the purpose of helping them with a concrete issue and in the process, other problems appear that we can also suggest solutions to.

Another success factor is the fact that a major part of the research is conduc-ted at the university has been accepted, meaning that researchers have to sit with companies and customers and attempt to interpret what essentially they need.

– We integrate the technology with the various available processes in the branch, which also means that we’ve done an in-ternal journey towards greater interdisci-plinarity and en appearance together with the company, says Thomas Olofsson.

Moreover – a generation change is already being carried out at the division, most researchers are in the middle of their work and growth in the form of students and postgraduate students is good.

e F F e c T i v e n e S S , p r o d u c i n G so-mething unique, quality and not the least cost are all discussed when it is about building.

A difficult equation to solve?– No, not at all, says Thomas Olofsson.

– To create a feeling that something is unique doesn’t have to mean that it’s more expensive; it is more about taking care of the customer’s total need. Take the edging around a door as an example – if it is affixed with nails, the carpenter probably thinks that he has been ef-ficient, while the customer feels that the nail heads are ugly.

– Industrial building is a concept that we quickly got hooked on and under-stood what it really meant, interjects Lars Stehn.

– And much of the project in Lean Wood Engineering (the latest in a series of centre educations at LTU, which Stehn is responsible for) is just about processes. In Sweden, for example, buil-ding has long been regulated politically through planning processes, building norms and regulations, which unfortu-nately has stopped development. People have simply adapted themselves as per the regulations, thinking, “if we build according to the norms, we have to con-tribute.” The building processes then do not develop naturally; they will not be an active part in the development of society.

a n e x a m p l e i S to build housing in wood, elevated. This has not been done in Sweden for at least 100 years, and the reason is obvious – say a city in the country that has not had its own “big-city fire”. Today, building in wood is on its way back, but there lacks much knowledge among market actors if the possibilities exist.

– Of course, the objections are there. Wood burns easily, it makes noise and it shifts, but we know today how to deal with it, we have solutions to the problem and the interest is huge, says Lars Stehn.

– There is also resistance, but this does not prevent it from being a special and different task.

The task he speaks of is a national re-sponsibility bestowed upon to LTU and, in brief, sets out to continue the edu-cation of various actors in the building market – buyers, architects and designers, for example. Lars Stehn has travelled the entire country and lectured about building wood structures, thousands of people have attended and listened, and as said, the interest is there.

In the end, our discussion in the end turns to the future and how it will turn out. And both professors Stehn and Olofsson are in agreement.

– So, the question reads like this: Will we fight over a piece of the little cake that we operate within today – or will we see to it that the cake becomes bigger?

The answer seems obvious.None of them seem particularly fond

of small cakes…

– To create a feeling that something

is unique doesn’t have to mean that it’s more expensive;

it is more about taking care of

the customer’s total need.


Why do Swedes sort their garbage?


R e s e a R c h : l a u R a s a l o , a N d e R s G R e N ,

d a N i e l W e s t l i N G a N d a N N i k a v R ö N N b R o

p o l i T i c a l S c i e n T i S T S i m o n m a T T i has, together with colleague and economist Christer Berglund, exa-mined the values and attitudes of Swedish households to the sorting of household garbage. Moreover, they have studied within the framework for the research project SHARP the Swedish government policy concerning the sorting of garbage.

A questionnaire to 4.000 households in four Swedish municipalities showed that it is primarily the feeling of being a good citizen that gives the individual Swede motivation and driving force to sort their household garbage – while the government’s environment policy shows that politicians primarily look at and treat the household as a consumer, in other words people who are primarily motivated by economical factors. And since a citizen can be characterised as a sort of team player who thinks about society before his or her own gain, while the consumer only thinks of themselves and their eco-nomical benefits, there is a significant difference between the way politicians and households view the sorting of household garbage.

For the sorting of household garbage to work, it is important that the motivation amongst households is based upon the conviction that the work one puts into the sorting supports the environment and thus society in the long-term. This “inner motivation” can, according to Simon Matti, be superseded if an “outer motivation” based on economical means motivates us consumers. Simon Matti points to some examples where behaviour

changes drastically when economical means are put in to take of the problem.

At a residence for the elderly, the residents performed small duties like taking care of the dishes and picking up after themselves throughout the residence. Because bed making was a little so-so and the personnel wanted to get them to make their own beds, coffee tickets were introduced as reward to those who did it. The result was that many of the residents indeed began making their beds to a great extent, while they ceased to perform other small duties with the reason that they were not receiving any coffee tickets for those duties.

Another example is a daycare where the staff had pro-blems with parents who did not pick up their children at the time they stated, something that obviously created problems for the personnel and their planning. The daycare leaders, therefore, introduced a fine when parents came too late, something that led to more parents than before beginning to come too late – the moral feeling to “do right” by arriving on time disappeared, since the personal gain was experienced as greater than the fine. Because the fine introduction did not yield the desired results, the daycare leaders removed the fines again – but then parents continued to come too late to a greater extent than before the measure was introduced.

In both examples, the inner motivation had greatly decreased compared to before the reward/fine was in-troduced. And when the inner motivation disappears, it’s difficult to get it back.

in today’s consumption society of the western world,

many live well and have an abundance of food. on the flip

side of this coin are the large quantities of garbage created

and who will take responsibility for it. in recent years,

consumers have had much of the responsibility to sort out

household waste, but this takes time, something today that

is in short supply. The question is how much responsible-

taking citizens are willing to pay to avoid rinsing and sorting

milk cartons everyday. or is sorting household waste a sort

of ideal work for a higher purpose?


So, back to the sorting of household garbage – the questionnaire that Simon Matti and his colleague sent out illustrated how the motivation of households to sorting household garbage is very much about ethics, and to a lesser extent, that you do what you want if you want others to also do it. From an examination of official environment documents, it is evident that the govern-ment looks at households as consumers, something that we already observed as being in glaring contrast to the household’s own view of itself as a citizen

The conclusion is simple.The government should take along the household

view and motive estimates when a new environmental policy is developed or when new means are introduced.

Today, the government is using primarily financial mean, such as fees, taxes, deposit systems, congestion fees and fines.

– Using such methods to bring about a changed behaviour, in the short-term, among Swedish households works well – we know this from experience. But using them to bring about a lasting attitude change regarding environment work is risky, simply because they can also supersede people’s inner motivation, says Simon Matti.

Yes, the majority of us are already that – we make decisions about our daily purchases both based on price and which type of packaging the product is delivered in, such as jam in a glass jar or refill tube.

– Naturally, people consider, like with the rational consumer, price when they shop, but we should

– Naturally, people consider, like with the rational consumer, price when they shop, but we should not forget that many also commit themselves to an environmental work that doesn’t result in any direct positive effects to personal finances.


not forget that many also commit themselves to an envi-ronmental work that doesn’t result in any direct positive effects to personal finances. Above all when it applies to larger questions, like global warming, the same individual can seldom behave as a morally motivated citizen, says Simon Matti.

a l r e a d Y i n 2 0 0 0 , professor Marian Radetzki from Luleå University of Technology presented a groundbrea-king theory – he stated that the sorting of household garbage was not profitable from a socio-economical perspective, a statement he established in a comparison between the time needed to sort garbage and the hourly wage after taxes. National economist Christer Berglund asked if there are not other values than purely financial – is there not, for example, a value in one possibly feeling like a better person after having spent time in a garbage room and placing all garbage in the correct containers?

To find the answer to his hypothesis, he sent out a questionnaire to 850 randomly chosen households in the small Swedish municipality of Piteå; 71 per cent answe-red, which can been seen as proof of the engagement people actually have for the question.

In his study, Christer Berglund introduces a new variable – green moral index, GMI. This index can be described as the warm feeling that many feel when doing a contribution to the environment. And this is confirmed

by the many who answered that they sort household gar-bage to contribute to a better environment, not because they feel forced or to earn money from it.

What is it then that drives citizens to sort themselves rather than pay to let someone else do the work?Yes, in Christer Berglund’s study, education and salary do not affect, in any case, the attitude to want to pay to avoid sorting garbage. However, the study shows that the will to pay differs depending on age, sex, housing, and how far is it to the sorting station. Older people and women seem more positive towards sorting household garbage themselves rather than pay to have someone else sort their garbage. House owners have a lower will to pay than those who live in a flat, something that supports the hypothesis that those who have more space for their garbage consider it less troublesome to sort than those with limited space. In line with what one expects, those who have far to the recycling station are more willing to pay to avoid sorting household garbage, and much of this will can be deduced from the individual feeling a moral responsibility to sort for a better environment.

Even though garbage sometimes still ends up in the wrong place. For example, a battery can go down in the compost or an aluminium can gets lost down among the newspapers, small errors due to ignorance or sloppiness. The consequences can be serious – heavy metals from a battery in the compost mean that the earth cannot be used for cultivation and the whole goal with recycling disappears.

While a wrong sorting can have large consequences environment-wise, some Swedish municipalities choose to concentrate on control in the form “garbage spies” and surveillance cameras instead of information and in-structions. Think about what would happen to your own motivation if you, when you think you have conducted a good deed for the environment, instead get fined several thousand crowns for placing a bag with newspapers next to a full container, thinking that it is better for the bag to be there than inserted into the wrong container …

To save resources and protect the environment, we should sort our household garbage to an even greater extent than we do today. And it is also probably the biggest motivation factor for sorting household garbage among us citizens – who does not want leave behind a good environment to their children and grandchildren? A dilemma is that good environmental care costs money – it is simply more expensive to recycle great quantities of garbage than to, for example, burn it – so the more we sort, the more expensive it will be. Thus, garbage fees will tend to rise at the same rate as we sort more, which can have as a consequence that many will feel entitled to throw away garbage anyhow – “I still pay for it”. Rising fees can take away some of the motivation that is both there and needed.

For example, a battery can go

down in the compost or an aluminium can

gets lost down among the newspapers, small

errors due to ignorance or sloppiness. The

consequences can be serious.


He is well aware that the mining industry and by that geology come with its share of image problems, Professor Pär Weihed. And even if he himself uses the term “unsexy” to describe the mining branch, he still thinks that it’s slightly peculiar, not the least with the opinion that, for example, prospecting is “hot like it is now”.– And there is really quite an attraction of adventure with ore geology, actually there’s a little bit of treasure hunting. Moreover, you end up in so many exotic places around the world, such as the interior of Mongolia or high up in the Andes – how many get there? EEE

how fun is it with stones and metals?



p ä r W e i h e d i S p a S S i o n a T e lY i n T e r e S T e d in the subject of geology – it’s really only the interest for a special green/black football team in his hometown of Göteborg that can compete with this interest. Together with colleagues at the Department of Chemical engi-neering and geosciences, he’s putting together the final details on Luleå University of Technology’s new mine re-search program, a mine and metallurgy program that will cover all technical areas needed by the various branches.

We will take the most fundamental first.As we all know, geology is the science of the Earth’s

formation, composition and development, and includes the different processes that change it. The Earth’s crust, or the Earth’s shell if you wish, consists of the different spe-cies of rock that in turn are composed of different mine-rals and is affected and changed by, among other things, volcanism and plate tectonics – the slow movements of the continents. And what is it exactly in all of this that fascinates Pär Weihed to such an extent, he doesn’t really know, just that it has always been like this.

– Maybe it’s partially that geology is so much, from prospecting when you try in different ways to find out what exactly is down there and in what proportions, to

the after-treatment when you stop mining to ensure the environmental activities for posterity. This breadth is also our strength her in Luleå, the only thing we are missing today is a professor in prospecting geophysics, but we are definitely the only seat of learning in Europe that can produce the breadth of knowledge like we do.

It was in connection with Sweden’s Ministry of In-dustry, Employment and Communications so-called in-dustry discussion 2006, where the aim was to strengthen Swedish research within the country’s important bran-ches (seven are defined, mining and metallurgy being one), when the thought of mining research program was first introduced. Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) received the assignment to think about how ore geology research could be strengthened, and one week before the parliamentary elections in 2006, it was decided to establish a mining research program.

SGU has not yet received any decision regarding the 7 million SEK per year needed to strengthen the ore geology research, but Pär Weihed is quite certain where the money will end up or where it will be granted.

– Yes, it has to end up here in Luleå, LTU is the only seat of learning to conduct research in the area.

FACTS

Each person in the Western world needs during their lifetime:

14,076 kilograms salt•

9,700 kilograms clay•

350 kilograms zinc•

775.5 tonnes stone, sand and gravel•

350,310 litres petroleum products•

598 kilograms copper•

51 grams gold•

10,628 kilograms phosphate•

267,068 kilograms coal•

387 kilograms lead•

2,710 kilograms aluminium (bauxite)•

14,956 kilograms iron ore•

22,103 kilograms cement•

163.666 cubic metres natural gas, as well as•

Additional 30,335 kilograms other mineral and metals.•

Total 1,700 tons/person

Source: Mineral Information Institute, www.mii.org

As this is being written, Pär Weihed and his colleagues are also waiting on the mining research program’s an-nouncement within a number of areas – this concerns a total of 100 million SEK, with half coming from Vinnova and half from industry.

– And from that, at least 80 to 90 million will hopefully land here at Luleå University of Technology; industry has been quite clear and indicated that they are backing LTU. During 2007, a number of centre educations will then be newly formed or renewed here at the university, among others those that have been named “secured maintenance of raw material”, which essentially means prospecting.

– One suggestion that we have put together concerns developing a third dimension of today’s petrological maps, by seeing how big the various rock species are in terms of volume. We’re talking about how they look two, three kilogramsmetres down in the ground.

– There is already a number of facts from previously drilled bore holes, and what we want to do now is create vibrations in the Earth’s crust. When the seismic waves hit against the rock species’ boundary and cracks, that is when they reflect and we are able to get a picture. This expensive technique is called seismic reflection. We collaborate with Uppsala University and would rather conduct our tests at Skelleftefältet, a mineral rich area, says Pär Weihed.

This seismic information later makes up three-dimen-sional models of the bedrock where other geological, geochemical and geophysical information are built on the framework of seismic reflection.

– We can finally speak of a third and fourth di-mension, where the fourth is time. We call the project 4-dimensional, since we also want to consider the time. The time, in other words the geological time that has passed since the bedrock formed almost two billion years ago, caused deformations of the Earth’s crust. Close the to surface, the bedrock breaks up brittlely, resulting in faults and dislocations, and deeper down in the Earth’s crust, the bedrock deforms plastically so that folding and so-called shearing occur.

With the help of computers, all wrinkles and creases in the photos can be straightened out via three-dimen-sional models, and a photo of how it looked from the very beginning develops. And we know how it looked from the beginning by speculating where there are still undiscovered ore bodies, something that the whole indu-stry is obviously very interested in.

T h e n e W m i n i n G r e S e a r c h p r o G r a m is, of course, not only about 3- and 4-dimensional models; it is much more. Many people are involved and the program extends itself over several departments and subject matters.

Pär Weihed has certainly had reasons to think a lot about these problems concerning mining’s relative image and has also written a number of popular scientific artic-les on the subject. He believes that the negative attitude of many people to mining and thus also to geology in

general is mainly due to lack of knowledge.And he is convinced that, among other things, uni-

versities and colleges conducting research and education in the subject have therefore an important task – the industry is in great need of a well-educated workforce if Sweden is to maintain its position on the world market.

– Many people today are more or less completely de-pendent on extracting metals, minerals, and energy raw materials like coal, oil and gas, as well as different types of ballast material like gravel, sand and macadam, says Pär Weihed.

– However, few activities are criticised as much as the mining industry and even if the criticism is occasionally justified, it is more often completely incorrect when the tendentious accuse the mining industry as environment criminal number one.

Pär Weihed states that few of us have any knowledge about how different thing around us are actually produ-ced and what the origins of various products are. This is perhaps most obvious in the food industry; we know far too seldom where the food actually comes from or how they are produced. This is similar to our maintenance of raw material, neither adult nor adolescent come in contact with mines, gravel trains or quarries – except when they read about them in magazines or see some television program.

– Hence, not many people are aware of the fact that the condition for human life itself is that the body supp-lies a series of elements, including metals. Today, medical geology is a hot research area, which concerns,

one suggestion

that we have put

together concerns

developing a third

dimension of today’s

petrological maps,

by seeing how big

the various rock

species are in terms

of volume. We’re

talking about how

they look two, three

kilogramsmetres

down in the

ground.


among other things, the sensitive balance in the body – receiving too little of certain important metals leads to deficiency disease, too much and we become poisoned.

Today, the fact is that we use metals during all 24 hours of the day, but most do not realise how dependent we are on them (see summary). We are just as dependent on different forms of transport and for us in the western world; the automobile is today an almost indispensable means of transport.

– In the table, I have listed the most common metals in a car, 16 of them, which have to be extracted in the mine or reused from scrap. Considering that each car produced weighs almost a tonne and over 40 million cars are produced each year, it is easy to realise that huge quantities of metals are needed to supply the world with new automobiles – and this each year, says Pär Weihed.

In the same way, we can list the amount of metals we use in other contexts – such as during the winter Olympics in Turin. This is what an American geological investigation did, whose summary observed, among other things, that most competitions were conducted on crystalline water, i.e. snow and ice, manufactured artificially in machines produ-ced from aluminium, copper, iron and other metals.

– The Olympic torch contains aluminium, copper, steel and heat resistant polymers; the medals awarded consist of actual gold, silver and bros, but because gold and silver in their pure form are soft, they are alloyed with cadmium, copper, indium, silicon, tin and zinc. Moreover, metals and building material were needed for the Olympic village, for transports and for data communication.

– All, including politicians and those in power, as well as those who use, for example, automobiles, train, air travel, underground, jewellery, televisions and stereo systems, should think about where these raw materials actually come from and what we would do if they could

not be produced. Within the EU, we mine 3 per cent of the metals consumed by the world each year, while we who live in EU countries consume 20 per cent of what is mined. Furthermore, if we take into the calculations that we in Western Europe comprise only six or seven per cent of the world’s population, it’s relatively easy to see that we hardly take responsibility for a sustainable development, right?

Research on substitute materials (ceramals and gips) is extensive today, just as the reusing of metals. Other me-tals are being phased more or less out, such as lead, which was greatly used previously as an additive in petrol and batteries. Reusing today is conducted in large scales for many metals, while others are not as easy to reuse.

– Despite this, curves for the mining production of all metals are pointing greatly upwards, and with the exception for speculation metals like gold and platinum, production is essentially driven directly by demand.

– That an increased knowledge is needed of where the metals are is rather obvious, and it is also in the light of this development that the Swedish mine research program should be looked upon. In 1999, Sweden was the EU’s largest producer of iron, silver and lead, the next largest producer of copper and zinc, and the third largest producer of gold.

– If this is not really heard in the public debate, it is something that probably depends on either our politi-cians or decision-makers not knowing the facts or it’s in their interest to not “brag” too much about it.

– If we don’t take responsibility for the domestic production of metals, we contribute further growth of the global environmental problem – since exploitation in development countries is not under the same control as what we demand of our own industries in the industria-lised world.

ThE moST uSuAl oCCurring mETAlS in An AuTomoBilE

ElEmEnT SymBol AuTomoBilE pArT WEighT in kg

Iron Fe Body 1,000

Aluminium Al Body 120

Coal C Steel mm 25

Copper Cu Electrical cables, cooler 20

Silicon Si Glass 20

Lead Pb Battery 10

Zinc Zn Rust protection 10

Manganese Mn Alloy steel 8

Chromium Cr Chrome detail 7

Nickel Ni Plating, stainless steel 4

Magnesium Mn Aluminium alloy 2

Sulphur S Steel 1

Molybdenum Mo Motor lubrication, steel 0.5

Vanadium V Steel 0.5

Phosphorus P Steel 0.5

Niobium Nb High-tensile steel 0.2


new material – of essentially anything

W e m e e T a T lT u S k e l l e F T e å , where Kristiina Oksman has had her place of work for a little over a year. Her 13-year old female German Sheppard Indiana lies on a blanket and sleeps th-rough practically the entire interview.

– She hears almost nothing anymore, that’s why she doesn’t pay attention to you, says Kristiina Oksman.

She graduated from LTU as a civil engineer in Material Mechanics in 1990 and switched after that from steel to

wood when she was hired as a Ph.D. student in Skellefteå. After defending her doctoral thesis, she began working for Sicomp in Piteå. And it was there where The Norwegian Uni-versity of Science and Technology in Trondheim came calling to offer her a position as Professor of Polymers and Composites.

The next call came a few years later – Luleå University of Technology was searching for a professor in wood and

bionanocomposites, and Kristiina Oks-man has been working at LTU Skellefteå since August 2006. Besides holding two professorships, she is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto and all of her research focuses on essenti-ally the same area, with slightly different starting points.

– The simplest explanation of my research? I work with developing new materials and production processes – to, for example, new packaging materials

She has had problems with her permanent telephone, something that went wrong when it came to booking a time for this interview. If you choose to live in the country, it isn’t always easy to get the telephone line to work, at least not in all parts of the country.– And broadband isn’t available either, something I thought you could have gotten through all of Sweden now, says Kristiina Oksman with an inimitable Finnish accent.

P h o t o : P e R P e t t e R s s o N

that are biodegradable and can replace plastic packaging.

– As an example, there is something in wood called microfibrils; they are very tiny and transparent, meaning that they can be used as reinforcement material in various types of plastics, bioplastics if you wish. When bioplastics mix with microfibrils, the bioplastics become degradable, which is obviously a big advantage.

Best of all is that, in principle, all organic material can be used – they are similar at the nano level and function the same. The science is in taking out the fibrils and keeping them separated so that they can be mixed in the plastic.

– It means that we can use a number of waste products that are today thrown away or burned – also, it cannot be wood, it can just as well be potato peel or, as one of my doctoral students in Canada is working with, wheat straw.

Bionanocomposites is a relatively new research area. Kristiina Oksman herself has four doctoral students in Trondheim and one so far in Skellefteå. Linked to them are 38 people active at The Centre for Biomaterials in Toronto, where she is an Adjunct Professor, as well as a number of people in Japan.

Contrary to many other material researchers, Kristiina Oksman is very practically concentrated, and the Labo-ratory of Wood and Bionanocomposites – inaugurated in April 2007, will aim towards the processes needed to develop new materials.

– The processes and materials will not be accepted by industry if we cannot show that they can be manufactured in a rational and functioning manner, says Kristiina Oksman.

The possibility of an increased ethanol production both in Sweden, in general, and especially in the forest provinces of Västerbotten and Norrbotten is being discussed today.

– When you produce ethanol, you only use 20 per cent of the wood raw material – the remainder is discarded. I want to get to the other 80 per cent and we have therefore begun discus-sions to cooperate with some of those involved in ethanol production here in Skellefteå.


PORTO

BETALTB

a i d S F o r T h e e l d e r lY with mild dementia are developed everyday within CogKnow, so that they can get by longer on their own and have a better quality of life. Earlier research within cognitive remedies has de-monstrated the great need and possibilities. So far, few solutions have been developed and practically tested.

The project will lead to a scientific and technical breakthrough by developing a user-tested prosthesis, a technical solution supports the memory to remember information about themselves and their surrounding, communication to get help from personnel and rela-tives when needed, support for everyday activities via, for example, voice reminders as well as alarms when something unexpected or serious occurs.

This aid can have great meaning when caring for dementia, a chronic illness that affects 5 per cent of all over 65 years of age and 40 per cent of all over 90 years. Besides the purely human consequences, the dementia illness involves substantial costs for society. CogKnow won over stiff competition between 86

project applications with the EU’s seventh framework programme and was ranked among the highest by the EU commission. The project has even gained the na-tional attention of Vinnova, which awarded the project even further financing. The Swedish part of the project is run by Luleå University of Technology via CDH, Centre for distance-spanning healthcare. CDH works with applied research and development in project form, company development and spin-off companies as well as international excellence in the field of distan-ce-spanning healthcare.

– It is important for Luleå University of Tech-nology that the regional cooperation is recognised internationally. CogKnow strengthens LTU’s position within the EU’s framework programme, which pro-vides great opportunities to externally financed coo-peration between the university, industry and society. CDH has a key roll at the university to develop the interdisciplinary area of e-health, says Vice-chancellor Pia Sandvik Wiklund.

Luleå University of Technology is responsible for the scientific work in an extensive European research project on e-health. From Sweden, even the council for the county of Norrbotten responsible for the Swedish experimental work will participate. The strong regional cooperation within e-health is now showing results. The project, called ”CogKnow”, has a total budget of three million Euros, with eleven partners in eight countries.

Successes for norrbotten research on e-health

the swedes and their garbage - ltu.se

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