Vestforbraending – Denmark’s largest waste management and energy company

Environmental commitment
Our environmental commitment is at the forefront of our activities, creating a consistent goal of developing and improving our systems, so they reflect this responsibility. Our progressive approach is one of curiosity and ambition, and we strive to refine our projects and processes in such a way that a harmonious balance with our surroundings is ensured while maintaining effective and cost-efficient solutions.

Owners – 19 municipalities
Founded in 1970 on a “non-profit cost-coverage” principle, the owners of Vestforbraending consist of 19 municipalities in the Copenhagen area and Northern Zealand. We handle upwards of 1 million tons of a waste each year, encountering 25% of the Danish household waste. Roughly 350 employees tend to approximately 950,000 people, including 60,000 businesses.

This ownership model dictates our objective of maintaining a truly circular method of waste management. The close cooperation between Vestforbrænding and its owning municipalities makes it possible to secure waste resources directly at the source. Extracting waste value locally is the first step in a series of steps creating the Vestforbrænding waste orbit.

Circular value chain
Our circular value chain focuses on waste collection and sorting, resource harvesting and treatment and green energy production. Collection, treatment and recycling allows us to return the waste resources to our owning municipalities in their new forms of electricity, district heating and products.

Vestforbraending’s dedication to improving our waste process means that we are continuously developing new technology and collaborating with Danish and international companies. Vestforbraending also runs nine recycling stations, reception plants and an education centre.

Interpersonal strategy
With several intricate core areas of operation, we rely heavily on an interpersonal strategy within our communities. The success of our initiatives is dependent on how well our citizens engage with our services and this is why we sustain a close partnership with our municipalities and the many citizens we supply with power, heating and waste collection.

Our strategy is simple; engage the “users”. By working with information campaigns and in-depth educational services, we are able to welcome people inside the world of waste. Our goal is to educate our community about waste collection and recycling and illuminate the impacts of waste on the world around us. This is why we have established 4 in-house “learning centres” that provide comprehensive, interactive and age-appropriate learning opportunities for elementary school and high school students. We have upwards of 25,000 visitors annually.