Nuuk, Greenland_Ilona Mettiäinen 2014_550x367.png
Project focuses on waste management especially in small and mid-sized Arctic cities. Photo: Ilona Mettiäinen, Nuuk, Greenland.

New project on sustainable waste management in the urban Arctic

12.8.2025 10:34

The project focuses on knowledge exchange and the transfer of best practices in waste management across Finland, Norway, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.

Project titled as “Strengthening the Transfer of Good Practices in the Arctic Waste Management Cooperation” (STRAWCO) focuses on sustainable municipal waste management in the urban Arctic, with particular emphasis on the Nordic region and Greenland.

The initiative is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers through the Arctic Cooperation Program and administered by the Nordic Institute in Greenland (NAPA). For the first year of the three-year project, the Arctic Centre has received DKK 400,000 (approx. 54 000 €). Continued funding for the second and third years is contingent upon the successful completion of the project's initial phase.

Project is led by Research Professor Kamrul Hossain, with Dr. Nadezhda Filimonova coordinating its implementation. All in all, STRAWCO aims to strengthen cooperation between academic institutions, municipal authorities, and waste management companies.

– By adopting a comparative approach that bridges mainland and island contexts, the project seeks to generate valuable policy and academic insights. Its outcomes will be especially relevant for small and mid-sized Arctic cities that face logistical and economic barriers in managing municipal waste effectively and sustainably, Hossain says. 
STRAWCO represents a timely and collaborative effort to address critical environmental challenges in the Arctic, contributing to the broader goals of sustainable urban development across the Nordic region. 

Partners to the project include the Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), the Technical University of Denmark, the University of the Faroe Islands, and the Belfer Center Arctic Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School.


More information:

Kamrul Hossain, Research professor
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
kamrul.hossain(at)ulapland.fi, +35840 484 4281


Filimonova Nadezhda, Postdoctoral Researcher
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
nadezhda.filimonova(@)ulapland.fi, +358 40 352 2908

News article on the website of NAPA, the Nordic Institute in Greenland:
Record number of applications for the Nordic Arctic Programme: 8.8 million for 21 Arctic projects