Waste Act Supervision and Littering
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General Information
Waste and waste bin management is divided to many operators.
The Environment Office supervises some professional waste treatment operations and can obligate a landowner to clean littered areas. The Environmental Office is not responsible for emptying street or residential waste bins.
You may report, for example, a waste load you found by a forest road or apply for environmental permits for waste treatment from the Environmental Office.
Reports about composting biowaste on your property are sent to your waste management authority and full waste bins in parks should be reported through the feedback service to park and greenspace sanitation.
Littering
The litterer is responsible for cleaning the littered area. Unfortunately, the litterer is often unknown, and the landowner or occupier is responsible to clean the littered area.
The littering is reported to different operators based on the area and reporting to the right authority speeds up the processing. Try to figure out who is responsible for the area’s upkeep before reporting.
| Problem | Report here |
|---|---|
| Waste and chemicals that pose an immediate threat of environmental contamination, such as open or leaking chemical containers | Rescue department, call 112 |
| Closed chemical containers left in nature that do not pose an immediate threat of environmental contamination | Environmental Protection via the feedback service |
| Littering or inappropriate waste in Rinki ecopoints | Rinki customer service |
| Littering or overflow of housing company waste collection points | Property manager or property maintenance |
| Repetitive littering or overflow of housing company waste collection points if the property manager cannot solve the issue | Environmental Protection via the feedback service |
| Littering and uncleanliness of built yard areas | Building Supervision via the feedback service |
| Uncleanliness of outdoor storage | Building Supervision via the feedback service |
| Littering due to construction sites | Building Supervision via the feedback service |
| Littering of city-owned greenspaces, parks and forests | Park and greenspace upkeep via the feedback service |
| Littering of streets and roads or waste left in city-owned areas | Park and greenspace upkeep via the feedback service |
| Littering or left waste on roads and routes in state-owned areas | Traffic customer service |
| Littering of marina waste collection points | Marina authority or upkeep |
| Long-term littering of marinas or repetitive littering or overflow of waste collection points if the marina authority cannot solve the issue | Environmental Protection via the feedback service |
| Littering of train stations or tracks | Traffic customer service |
| Littering of bus stops by city-owned streets and roads | Street and road maintenance via the feedback service |
| Littering of bus stops by state-owned streets and roads | Traffic customer service |
| Abandoned scrap vehicles | Street and road maintenance via the feedback service |
| Littering of waters | Land and measurement via the feedback service (choose subject: Fishing) |
Waste Management
The practical operations of waste management are divided to two authorities in the Oulu Region.
Kiertokaari Oy is responsible for the waste management of Oulu, Kempele, Lumijoki and Hailuoto. Lakeuden EKO is responsible for the waste management of Liminka, Tyrnävä and Muhos.
Kiertokaari Oy and Lakeuden EKO handle the waste transport, reception, treatment, utilization and waste guidance in their areas of operation.
Do you need advice about waste separation, recycling, waste bins or waste transport?
You may find more information and contact information from Kiertokaari Oy's website and Lakeuden EKO's website (in Finnish).
Waste Management Regulations
Waste management regulations are local regulations about waste management based on the Waste Act.
The regulations are binding to all city and municipality residents, including you.
Waste management regulations are issued on waste management accession, waste separation and collection as well as independent waste treatment. The regulations ensure functional waste management that does not cause environmental or health hazards.
On the Environment Office of the Oulu Region’s area of operations there are two sets of waste management regulations. Oulu’s regional waste management regulations are found on the Waste Management Board’s webpage, and Lakeuden EKO’s waste management regulations are found on Lakeuden EKO’s website.
- Oulu’s regional waste management regulations: Hailuoto, Kempele, Lumijoki ja Oulu (in Finnish)
- Lakeuden EKO’s waste management regulations: Liminka, Muhos ja Tyrnävä (in Finnish)
Public Event Waste Management
The organizer is responsible for the waste management of events. The Environment Office has compiled instructions for waste management of public events. Read the instructions here (in Finnish).
Burning of Waste
Disposing of waste by burning is not permitted.
You may burn dry and untreated wood in your property’s fire place. You may use small amounts of paper, paperboard or cardboard as kindling.
Outside urban planned areas, you may occasionally burn small amounts of dry branches or sticks. The burning must not cause harm to the neighborhood and a notification of lighting a fire must be filed if needed.
The matter is regulated by the waste management regulations.
Biowaste and Composting
If your property has at least four apartments, biowaste must be recycled separately. The separation of biowaste is highly recommended on all other properties as well. You may either compost the biowaste or order separate collection.
Biowaste must be recycled separately in densely populated areas (taajama-alue in Finnish) in Hailuoto, Kempele, Lumijoki and Oulu by 19.7.2024.
You may treat food leftovers and other biodegradable waste as well as yard waste by composting on your own property. The composting must be reported to the waste management authority.
By separately recycling biowaste, you extend the emptying frequency of your combustible waste bin in accordance with the waste management regulations.
Further information about biowaste and other waste separation duties from the Kiertokaari website.