Perspectives on recycling centres and future developments I.-L. Engkvist a, e, * , J. Eklund b, e , J. Krook c , M. Bj € orkman d , E. Sundin d a Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Link€ oping University, Sweden b Division of Industrial Ergonomics, Department of Management and Engineering, Link€ oping University, Sweden c Division of Environmental Technology and Management, Department of Management and Engineering, Link€ oping University, SE-581 83, Link€ oping, Sweden d Division of Manufacturing Engineering, Department of Management and Engineering, Link€ oping University, SE-581 83, Link€ oping, Sweden e Unit of Ergonomics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden article info Article history: Received 15 March 2015 Received in revised form 30 November 2015 Accepted 4 January 2016 Available online xxx Keywords: Environment Sustainability Waste abstract The overall aim of this paper is to draw combined, all-embracing conclusions based on a long-term multidisciplinary research programme on recycling centres in Sweden, focussing on working condi- tions, environment and system performance. A second aim is to give recommendations for their development of new and existing recycling centres and to discuss implications for the future design and organisation. Several opportunities for improvement of recycling centres were identified, such as design, layout, ease with which users could sort their waste, the work environment, conflicting needs and goals within the industry, and industrialisation. Combining all results from the research, which consisted of different disciplinary aspects, made it possible to analyse and elucidate their interrelations. Waste sorting quality was recognized as the most prominent improvement field in the recycling centre system. The research identified the importance of involving stakeholders with different perspectives when planning a recycling centre in order to get functionality and high performance. Practical proposals of how to plan and build recycling centres are given in a detailed checklist. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The importance of a sustainable environment is generally recognized (McKinsey Global Institute, 2011; Radjiyev et al., 2014), considering ecological, economic and social aspects (Josimovi c et al., 2015). Swedish waste management has undergone radical changes during recent decades. The handling of waste is complex, with many different actors involved. New laws are regularly introduced regarding the treatment of waste; which products are to be recycled; how they should be transported; and who is respon- sible for collection and storage of the collected material (Schultz, 2000). This leads to ongoing changes in how waste is handled, and has increased the demand for alternatives to landfilling such as material recycling, biological treatment and incineration with heat recovery. At present, most household waste is recycled in Sweden and the share being landfilled has decreased to 0.7% (Avfall Sverige, 2014), compared to 34% on average for EU (Eurostat, 2013). A growing volume of waste, nearly 185 kg per inhabitant per year, is collected at recycling centres. These are manned drop-off facilities, where the users can bring, sort and throw away items e.g. large-sized, haz- ardous, and electrical waste. The waste is placed in large containers, cages and small containers (Fig. 1). Kitchen waste is not allowed. Well performing recycling centres, being very early in the recycling chain, are key to the subsequent steps in waste processing (Engkvist et al., 2004; Woodard et al., 2004). However, their performance has scarcely been investigated. The rapid growth of recycling, hastened by several new laws (Government Bill, 1993; SFS, 2001; EU Directive, 2002/96, 2003; Eurostat, 2013; European Commission, 2012), has mostly focused on environmental factors, but rarely taken the work environment or economic aspects into consider- ation. Thus, the work environment has often been shaped without conscious planning, and workers have had to adjust to the situation (Alvarez de Davila and Antonsson, 2001). Sometimes a recycling centre is built in one corner of a landfill, or on a small area with a few containers and no possibilities to expand when needed, e.g. with new laws concerning recycling of products. Due to the rapid * Corresponding author. Unit of Ergonomics, School of Technology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Alfred Nobels all e 10, SE-141 52, Huddinge, Sweden. E-mail addresses: inga-lill.engkvist@sth.kth.se (I.-L. Engkvist), jorgen.eklund@ sth.kth.se (J. Eklund), joakim.krook@liu.se (J. Krook), mats.bjorkman@liu.se (M. Bj€ orkman), erik.sundin@liu.se (E. Sundin). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Ergonomics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apergo http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2016.01.001 0003-6870/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. Applied Ergonomics xxx (2016) 1e11 Please cite this article in press as: Engkvist, I.-L., et al., Perspectives on recycling centres and future developments, Applied Ergonomics (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2016.01.001