Waste management and environment in facility services
How to sort correctly — and why it has become a skilled task
Introduction
Waste is not just something that needs to go away — it is a resource that must be sorted correctly so that as much as possible can be recycled. As a service assistant, waste management is a fixed part of your work, regardless of whether you work in a hospital, a business or an institution. The education's competence objectives also emphasize that you must be able to perform waste management based on understanding the relationship between waste management and the overall environment — and do it in a way that is appropriate for both the environment and personal safety.
Why has sorting become a professional task
Since 1 January 2023, businesses in Denmark have had to sort their household-type waste according to the same sorting criteria as private households — the deadline in the Waste Order was 31 December 2022. The requirement is today found in the Waste Order (Executive Order no. 1749 of 30 December 2024, § 63; from 8 November 2026 Executive Order no. 810 of 22 September 2026, § 63): the waste is sorted into the ten fractions in Annex 6, and the containers are labelled with the pictograms the annex specifies. For you this means that correct sorting is no longer just good for the environment — it is a legal requirement, and the municipality can ask the workplace to document how much of the waste is actually recycled.
The ten fractions
| Fraction | Typical content |
|---|---|
| Food waste | Food leftovers and peels |
| Paper | Newspapers, Advertisements and Printer Paper |
| Pap | Cardboard boxes and paper plates |
| Glass | Bottles and glass packaging |
| Metal | Cans, lids, and metal packaging |
| Plastic | Plastic packaging and bottles |
| Food and drink containers | Milk and juice cartons |
| Hazardous waste | Chemical residues, fluorescent tubes, batteries |
| Textile waste | Discarded textiles |
| Residual waste | What cannot be recycled in the other fractions |
Each fraction has its own pictogram and its own colour, which are in annex 6 — e.g. food waste white on green and paper white on blue. Use the pictograms on the containers so everyone sorts the same way.
From 8 November 2026, a new executive order on waste applies (BEK no. 810/2026). Packaged commercial waste for incineration must go in clear plastic bags so you can see what is in them.
In addition to the ten fractions, companies must send these 13 types of waste for recycling (material recovery) when the waste is suitable for it:
- 01Glass, metal and plastic
- 02Paper and cardboard
- 03Food waste and garden waste
- 04Wood and textiles
- 05Food and drink containers
- 06Recyclable hazardous waste
- 07PVC
- 08Other waste suitable for material recovery
Color and finish specialization
In your daily work you encounter several types of waste that require special handling. Empty chemical cans and residues of cleaning and disinfection agents are hazardous waste and must not be poured down drains or thrown in ordinary waste. At hospitals and clinics you may also encounter sharps containers and other sharp or biological waste, which is always handled according to the workplace's own procedures and the national infection control guidelines (NIR) — never according to your own judgment.
- 01Know your workplace's sorting plan and which containers are located where
- 02Dispose of chemical residues in original packaging as hazardous waste
- 03Handle sharp objects and needle waste according to the workplace's fixed procedure
- 04Ask if you are in doubt about a waste type – incorrect sorting can cost dearly and damage the environment
Your responsibility in daily life
Waste management is often one of the tasks no one notices when it works — but causes problems if it doesn't. As a service assistant, you help ensure that the workplace complies with its legal requirements and that resources such as paper, metal and plastic are actually recycled instead of burned. It's a small, concrete way to make a difference every single day.