[Mika @ Lund] Eco living from Sweden - February 2020

Hello, this is Mika.

February is the coldest month of the year, but recently it is warm (although the temperature is still about 5 degrees), and I feel the rising temperature with the blooming flowers blooming as spring approaches.

It's been eight years since I moved to Sweden.
The first thing I thought when I moved to Sweden was how amazing the collection of plastic bottles and aluminium cans are! The collection system is available not only in Sweden but also in Denmark, Norway and Finland, so it's not special, but I would like to introduce this system to you.

This Swedish system is called PANT; which means deposit. It's such a common system now that PANT is used as a verb. When you want to go and "recycle plastic bottles and cans, you can say "I'm going to go PANT now. "

Here, all plastic bottles and cans are eligible for PANT. For plastic bottles and cans that are less than 1 liter the deposit or PANT is 1 SEK (1 SEK/krone = about 10 yen), and plastic bottles that are more than 1 liter the PANT is 2 SEK (2 SEK/krone = about 20 yen). PANT money (or the deposit) is paid when you purchase the product. Of course, the PANT you pay is a deposit so if you recycle and return, you will get your PANT money back.

回収のシステムも良くできています。
回収機はほとんどのスーパーに設置されています。回収機にペットボトルや缶を１つずつ入れていれ、機械がバーコードを読み取ると、自動でペットボトル／缶の仕分けをし、パントの金額を算出していきます。
すべて入れ終わってボタンを押すと、合算されたパントの金額のバーコードのついたレシートが印刷されますので、それをレジに持っていって換金するか、買い物の時にそのまま金券として使えます。機械によっては換金しないで、パントのお金を寄付することもできます。寄付の種類は色々あって、WWF, 植林活動、小児がん財団や教育支援など。

The collection system is also well done.
Collection machines are installed in most supermarkets. Plastic bottles and cans are put into the collection machine one by one, and when the machine reads the barcode, it automatically sorts them and calculates the amount of PANT. When you press the button after putting all the items, a receipt with the barcode of the sum of the PANT will be printed, so you can take it to the cash register and redeem it or use it as a voucher when shopping. You can also donate PANT money without cashing in on some machines. There are various types of donations, such as WWF, tree planting activities, Children's Cancer Foundation and educational support.

パント運営会社のホームページによると、このパントシステムを通じて84.9パーセントの缶、ペットボトルをリサイクルできたそうです（2018年）。そして、リサイクル方法はというと、新たな材料を何も加えずにすべて新しい缶、ペットボトルに生まれ変わることができるそう！すごいシステムだ。と今回また改めて思いました。

このシステムがあるので、町でペットボトルや缶などのゴミを見たことがありません。空になった容器もお金なのでみんな持って帰ってパントします。リサイクルもできるし、町もきれいだし、本当に優秀なとてもいいシステム！

According to the PANT management company website, 84.9% of plastic bottles and cans have been collected and recycled through the PANT system in 2018. And as for the recycling method, it can be reborn as a new can or plastic bottle without adding any new material! It's such a great system!

With this system, I have never seen garbage such as plastic bottles or cans in town. Since the used plastic bottles and cans are also money, everyone brings it home and PANTSit. Less garbage because of recycling, and the town is beautiful; this is a wonderful system!