Branches, twigs and other plant parts from your garden or balcony can be composted at home. No special permits are needed for this. Waste from your garden can also be taken to your municipal recycling centre. In some municipalities, you can order a special bin for garden waste, which is emptied in the same way as the normal rubbish bin. Composting tips can be found in the links on the right.

However, some so-called invasive plants must not be put in the compost. If you do, you run the risk of spreading them so they compete with and kill off native species. These include giant hogweed (also known as cartwheel flower or giant cow parsley), Persian hogweed (like giant hogweed, but only grows in northern Sweden), Himalayan balsam, Asian knotweed and Western skunk cabbage. There are currently a total of 24 plants on the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s list of invasive alien species in Sweden. All of them should be bagged and placed in the recycling centre’s container for combustible waste. Read more by clicking on the link to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s on the right.