Environment

Finland strives to care for its natural environment. Emissions to the soil, lakes, rivers and sea from population centres, businesses and agriculture have been significantly reduced in recent decades. Finnish industry was the world’s most efficient emission reducer during the comparison period 1988-1994. In production, emissions are controlled by strict regulations. In selecting materials for the end products, the national and international guidelines have been taken into account in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Recycling points for used goods have been established. A waste handling fee is payable for rejected goods. The national authorities, the regional environment centres, monitor the state of the environment.

The state of the environment can be assessed by observing
- quality of the air,
- potable and wastewater management,
- contaminated soil
- solid waste and
- use of renewable energy sources.

In the WFA area, expertise can be found in various fields, such as air pollution measurements, flue gas cleaning, noise control, and clean-air rooms for medicine and electronics production.

Even though the humus content in lakes does not entirely meet the standards set by the EU directives, the waters are clean and safe for swimmers. According to the UN World Water Development Report, Finland has the best water quality. Municipal water treatment plants produce pure potable water for the residents using ground water or lake water pumped through purifying plants. Municipal sewage plants deal with the wastewaters. In sparsely populated areas it is not permitted to discharge sewage water into the soil, lakes or rivers. This water management know-how has also been exported from the WFA area to improve the condition of waters elsewhere.

Industrial producers and petrol stations have in past decades contaminated their sites. In the WFA region there are companies offering expert services in soil purification. Dangerous substances have to be sent to a national purifying plant. Preventive soil zones around lakes hinder the eutrophication of lakes as a result of agricultural activities.

Municipal waste plants are responsible for the collection and treatment of solid waste. In land use planning, the Regional Councils determine the locations of dumping-grounds. The tendency has been towards the collection of waste from wider areas to a few waste plants. Recyclable materials are separated for use in energy production, for example. The first energy producing waste plant started operating in the Ostrobothnia region at the beginning of the ’90s. Hospital waste constitutes a special problem, for which the central hospitals have developed a separation and management system. Only a fraction of hospital waste is classified as dangerous for people or the environment, and so this type of waste is separated and transported to the national waste treatment plant.

Finland, and particularly the actors in the WFA region, have invested in the utilisation of renewable energy resources. The vast peat swamps in the country were already being used for energy production decades ago. Methods for purifying the flue gas emissions caused by burning the peat have been developed successfully. Biomass is amply available, thanks to the great forest resources and sawmill production. Wood chips from saw mills are used for energy production locally – in the form of pellets for heating homes, for example. The utilisation of wind energy and geothermal energy is a new field of expertise in the WFA area.