1. Bins in the wrong place

The most common mistake is hiding the recycling setup in a storage room or at the far end of a corridor. Out of sight means out of use. Fix: place sorting where the waste is generated and where people already move. A central recycling station by the coffee machine or in the lunch room, combined with smaller bins like Kite or Hold at desks, keeps the distance to the right bin short. The lower the barrier, the higher the sorting rate.

2. Unclear or non-existent signage

When people aren’t sure where something goes, it ends up in the residual waste. Vague labels or handwritten notes don’t cut it. Fix: use clear, consistent symbols and colours, ideally following Avfall Sverige’s national labelling system so staff recognise them from home. Add concrete examples of what belongs in each fraction.

3. Wrong number of fractions

Too few fractions means material can’t be recycled; too many at once becomes unnecessarily complicated. Fix: start from a waste audit and the legal requirements, then choose a level you can actually maintain consistently. A modular solution like the Miljöstation makes it easy to begin with fewer fractions and build out as the routine beds in.

4. Bins the wrong size

A small bin for paper packaging that constantly overflows, or a large residual waste bin that invites laziness, both undermine sorting. Fix: size bins to match actual volumes. It helps that many products come in multiple formats: KLOSS is also available as KLOSS small and KLOSS mini, and the Kite bin comes in a Kite mini for tighter spaces. Often the recycling fractions need to be bigger, and the residual waste bin smaller, than you’d first assume.

5. Nobody thinks about emptying

If it’s inconvenient for cleaning staff to empty the bins, the system breaks down at the last step. In the worst case, everything ends up in the same bag. Fix: choose solutions that are easy to empty, and sort out the emptying routine with whoever handles cleaning before you buy anything. In the kitchenette, a recycling station can make both sorting and emptying easier at the sink.

6. Staff aren’t on board

New equipment doesn’t automatically change habits. Without briefing and buy-in, many people fall back into old patterns. Fix: explain why you’re sorting and what it leads to, cover it when introducing new routines, and appoint an environmental rep to keep the topic alive.

7. No follow-up

Waste sorting isn’t a one-time project. Without follow-up, you’ll never notice when something has stopped working. Fix: track sorting rates regularly, share the results with staff, and adjust the number of bins, placement, and signage as you go. Visible results keep motivation up.