Plastic waste & packaging

How do you sort plastic waste?

• Plastic packaging without food residue should be sorted for recycling. Rinse the plastic and shake it well – or let it dry a bit before sorting it into a dedicated bag for plastic waste.
• Non-packaging plastic items like toys, garden hoses, tarpaulins, foam rubber, and styrofoam should be disposed of in the black bin for residual waste.
• Large plastic items such as garden furniture should be delivered to the recycling station. You can also order free collection of bulky waste at hentavfall.no (page is in Norwegian).
• Plastic toys and other items in good condition can be donated to a reuse shop, flea market, or listed on finn.no.

How do you deliver sorted plastic packaging?

You can deliver plastic packaging in several ways:

Dedicated bag for plastic packaging

Starting September 2024, you can order special bags specifically for sorting plastic packaging.

• Order a roll of bags for plastic packaging here (page is in Norwegian)

If you usually pick up bags for food waste yourself, you can take a roll of bags for plastic waste from the same place (page is in Norwegian).

Plastic packaging bags will be collected every four weeks starting mid-October, and the schedule will be available in the collection calendar.

Place the filled plastic waste bags next to the other bin(s) to be collected on the same day. On windy days, place the plastic bag between bins or against a fence or hedge for stability. Avoid tying the bag, as it can make collection difficult.

The bags are quite large at 240 liters, and do take up some space when they start to fill up. If you do not have space for such bags, choose one of the other alternatives for delivering plastic packaging.

Housing associations (borettslag) can order the bags through their regular joint arrangements.

The scheme for collecting plastic in dedicated bags will last until IVAR opens a new post-sorting facility for waste.

Until the New Year: Deliver at return points

Deliver tied bags with sorted plastic packaging at one of these return points in the municipality.

• Kyviksmarka (underground container)
• Alti Tasta (underground container)
• Amfi Madla (underground container)
• Hillevåg torg (surface container)
• Rema1000 Forus (surface container)
• Hundvågkrossen (surface container)
• Eiganes gravlund (surface container)
• Judaberg recycling station (surface container)
• Hausken recycling station (surface container)

This separate bag collection system reduces the need to use return points, most of which will close around the end of the year.

Deliver at the recycling station

You can also deliver plastic packaging in any transparent plastic bag for free at IVAR’s recycling stations, for example at Forus or Hausken. Contact the staff upon delivery.

Order collection

If you order collection of bulky waste (grovavfall) at hentavfall.no, you can also place bags of sorted plastic packaging to be collected with the bulky waste. This is a good arrangement for those who, for example after renovation or moving, have larger quantities of waste and cannot deliver the waste themselves at the recycling station. Write “PLASTEMBALLASJE” in large letters on the bags.

Place in residual waste

You can also place plastic packaging in the residual waste.

Delivery for those with underground waste containers

A collection scheme for plastic packaging exists also for residents who have shared underground waste containers, with some exceptions:

• Residents who use underground waste containers in Storhaug and other parts of the city, who are not affiliated with a housing association or co-op, can send us an email to order collection of a full bag.
  If you have no bag, you can deliver plastic packaging at the return point at Kyviksmarka or throw it in the residual waste. 
• Residents of Old Stavanger and the city center peninsula can drop off plastic packaging at the nearest recycling point at Eiganes gravlund, at Kyviksmarka, or place it in the residual waste.

See also Sorting in housing associations and co-ops.

What happens to sorted plastic packaging?

Sorted plastic packaging is compressed and shipped to Germany for recycling. This applies to plastic packaging sorted into separate bags for collection, as well as any bags dropped off at return points or recycling stations.

When IVAR opens their new waste-sorting facility, nearly all plastic will once again be sorted into different types and used in the production of new plastic products.

Plastic packaging placed in residual waste is processed for energy recovery at the Forus incineration plant, where it is converted into district heating for buildings across Nord-Jæren.

Sorting other types of waste?

Go to the overview of how to sort and deliver different types of waste in Stavanger.