Additional waste costs are a growing problem in rental housing companies
Waste management in rental buildings requires planning
Separate waste-management costs have clearly increased over the past two years; depending on the building, they range from a few hundred euros to nearly four thousand euros per year. On average, 45% of a single building’s additional waste expenses can consist of these “junk removal costs”, says Lea Parviainen, Property Manager at NAL asunnot Oy.
At worst, additional waste expenses strain the building’s maintenance budget and create pressure to increase rent.
“We manage several dozen youth rental buildings, so the total costs can become significant. At worst, they strain the building’s maintenance budget and create pressure to increase rent,” Lea clarifies.
Proper sorting leads to savings
Waste expenses form a major part of a housing company’s maintenance budget. Residents can directly influence these costs by sorting waste correctly. For example, mixed waste disposal is more expensive than the disposal of glass or cardboard—so proper sorting results in clear savings for the building.
Costs also rise when waste is sorted incorrectly. Throwing cardboard into the paper-collection bin results in an extra charge for the housing company. Waste companies also issue additional fees if a waste container is filled so that the lid does not close. Even if the container next to it is only half full, the charge is the same as for emptying a fully filled container. This is why evenly filling the bins should be encouraged.
Old furniture and larger items often end up in or next to the waste containers. Residents may not consider that removing these items easily creates high costs, even if it helps an individual resident get rid of belongings. Removing a single piece of furniture can cost the housing company up to a few hundred euros. When these costs accumulate month after month, the total becomes significant—and someone has to cover it. Housing expenses are covered by rental income, so ultimately, residents pay these costs, which are shared among all.
Clear Instructions and Active Communication Drive Change
Good instructions and repeated, active communication about waste sorting and costs help remind residents to follow the guidelines. Highlighting the concrete impact these actions have on the cost of living makes their effectiveness visible. Everyone wants to influence what they pay for their housing.
Many residents are not aware of the types of costs caused by incorrect waste sorting.
“We believe in the power of communication. Many residents are not aware of the costs caused by incorrect waste sorting. This year we have invested heavily in resident communication: we have encouraged residents to recycle by sharing information about the benefits of sorting and by increasing guidance in waste rooms. We hope these actions will soon appear as reduced waste costs for the buildings,” Lea explains.
An effective way to communicate recycling instructions to residents is to include recycling guidelines in the home information folder, which can be uploaded for residents in the One4all Mobile resident app. Recycling-related instructions can also be shared on the digital notice board.
(article updated on 20 November 2025: the resident app PNTMobile → One4all Mobile)
This article is an ai-generated translation of the original article in Finnish.
