Nadezhda Filimonova’s desire to use her research to bring tangible benefits to the residents of the Arctic led her to explore the challenges and solutions related to circular waste management.

Nadezhda Filimonova’s path to a career as an Arctic researcher began to take shape early on. According to her own words, even before she was born.

“My father worked as a polar researcher for over 40 years. Already in my early childhood, I heard fascinating stories about those distant places. The seed of my enthusiasm was probably planted back then.”

During the early stages of her university studies in Sweden and Russia, Filimonova was more interested in the national level of Arctic politics, especially the geopolitical aspects. When attending a doctoral program in the United States, she ended up examining the Arctic region at city and regional levels.

“While conducting preliminary fieldwork in Murmansk, I wanted to find out what issues were important to municipalities, cities, and the people living there. At that time, issues related to waste management came to the forefront. I realized that if this is a problem for the region’s residents, I want my work to contribute solving it.”

Attention to residents’ everyday life

As a researcher, it is important for Filimonova to bring added value to the communities she studies.

“As a social scientist, I work with people. I don’t like the idea that a researcher just shows up, conducts interviews, leaves, and publishes articles in academic journals. Of course, that’s also an important part of academic work, but I also want to contribute to the life of the community.”

In addition, she wants to highlight issues that are easily overshadowed by so-called “bigger issues.”

“Right now, the Arctic is very much on the global agenda – but not necessarily for the reasons one might hope. Due to the prevailing geopolitical situation, hard security issues have taken precedence over addressing challenges caused by climate change and other environmental problems. Issues related to the Arctic environment and quality of life – such as pollution and waste management – are nonetheless matters that deserve attention, as they affect people’s daily lives,” Filimonova argues.

She is also inspired by the people she has met who are willing to work for the good of their communities and local environments.

“Keeping these issues in the spotlight is important and motivating, in part because real solutions are actually possible. For example, sharing information and learning about waste sorting or recycling can lead to small actions that make a big difference in people’s daily lives.”

One carbage bin in a mountain landscape.
The development of waste management infrastructure in Svalbard inevitably faces challenges related to the region’s remote location. Photo: Nadezhda Filimonova.
Special characteristics of waste management in the Arctic

Waste is generated wherever there are people. Why is it essential to examine Arctic urban environments separately from the perspective of waste management?

There are studies indicating that people living in Arctic cities generate more waste and sort and recycle less than those in other cities (Burns et al. 2021) [1].

“These numbers have also drawn criticism, but the issue needs closer examination. What lies behind this phenomenon, and what can be done about it?” Filimonova notes.

Common factors that define life in the Arctic include sparse population, inadequate connectivity and infrastructure, and harsh climatic conditions. All these factors also influence the organization of waste management in Arctic cities, municipalities, and small communities.

“Cities and municipalities set targets for waste sorting, waste reduction, and reuse in line with national and international circular economy goals – in the Arctic  and beyond. Their northern and often remote location adds unique challenges to the equation, and there isn’t much research data on this”, Filimonova explains.

In her analysis of the topic, she highlights three key perspectives. First, Arctic cities and municipalities are very different from one another, yet they share similar challenges. Second, problems related to waste management do not stem from indifference or a lack of willingness to solve them. Third, since the obligations apply to everyone, everyone should also have the opportunity to participate in achieving the national goals.

Shared challenges

The STRAWCO project promotes the exchange of information and best practices between municipalities, waste management companies, and researchers. The project includes four case studies and partner municipalities and local waste companies: Rovaniemi in Finland, Tromsø in Norway, Tórshavnin the Faroe Islands, and Sisimiutin Greenland.

“Of course, these locations vary in size and are subject to the laws of different countries. But if we zoom out a bit and generalize, their location in the Arctic also unites them – at least when compared to the large cities that are often the focus of waste management research.”

Tromsø and Rovaniemi are medium-sized municipalities compared to the project’s Greenlandic partner, which is a community with fewer than 6,000 residents. Nevertheless, they share the experience of how the size of a community determines the willingness to invest in waste management.

“Because of the small population, the conclusion is that not enough waste is generated to make building the infrastructure profitable,” Filimonova explains, referring to the municipalities’ experiences.

The solution is to transport the waste elsewhere. This is not without its problems either, especially in more remote areas where transport distances are long, difficult, and therefore expensive.

One remaining option is to store waste in landfills.

“This involves various environmental problems and, as the climate warms, a great deal of uncertainty, particularly regarding landfills located on permafrost.”

Cars soming to recycling station.
The Residuum recycling station in Rovaniemi, serves local residents, vacationers, and businesses as a facility for sorting and accepting various types of waste. Photo: Marko Junttila.
Strong motivation to look after local environment

In Filimonova’s experience, residents of Arctic municipalities are interested in taking care of their own environment. For the reasons described above, however, this is not always straightforward.

In small communities, the knowledge and expertise of individual people can also make a big difference.

“The main focus of the STRAWCO project is on sharing knowledge, expertise, and best practices. We have learned that in small communities, expertise in waste management can depend on just a few individuals. We need procedures to ensure that knowledge and expertise are preserved, even if a key person were to leave the community.”

Although the project involves both medium-sized cities and small communities, Filimonova points out that it’s not always a matter of bigger cities teaching smaller ones.

“Arctic communities are so interesting precisely because, despite the limitations imposed by geography, they have learned to be innovative in many different areas of life. A shift in mindset is needed among both researchers and residents. People have the abilities, the will, and the expertise to get things done. Learning from one another benefits all parties,” Filimonova assures.

According to her, strengths can also be found in small size and remoteness.

“One way to approach this is to view small communities as ideal pilot sites for new innovations. In these communities, new waste management solutions can be tested on a small scale. If they work there, they can work anywhere.”

Inclusiveness of waste management

The third perspective Filimonova wishes to bring to the discussion on waste management in the Arctic is inclusiveness.

“As all municipalities have obligations, everybody should also have the right to play a part in looking after their own living environment. We cannot limit our consideration of waste management solutions to the metropolis alone. The specific characteristics of communities with small populations or those in remote locations also deserve to be taken into account.”

Filimonova says that attention should be paid not only to the development of new innovations but also, for example, to the legislative process.

 “National legislation is always drafted to meet the needs of the whole country, but, particularly at the implementation level, geographical characteristics must also be considered.”

To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to look after their own living environment, she is keen to discuss the topic in new forums.

“One of my dreams is to organize a major Arctic waste conference where municipalities, towns, researchers and other stakeholders from an even wider area than our project currently covers can come together to share their expertise and best practices. We’re working hard to ensure that waste features more prominently on the agenda of Arctic conferences.”

Photo of Nadezhda Filimonova.
Nadezhda Filimonova works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Arcti Centre, University of Lapland. Photo: Ville Rinne.

STRAWCO-project

  • Strengthening the Transfer of Good Practices in Arctic Waste Management Cooperation
  • Funding: the Nordic Arctic Program of the Nordic Council of Ministers, administered by the Nordic Institute in Greenland
  • Project duration: 31.08.2025–30.08.2028
  • Project is led by Research Professor Kamrul Hossain and activities are coordinated by Postdoctoral Researcher Nadezhda Filimonova from the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland
  • Partner Institutions: Norwegian Research Centre, Technical University of Denmark , University of the Faroe Islands, Arctic Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

[1] Burns, Charlene, Robert W. Orttung, Melissa Shaiman, Leah Silinsky and Emily Zhang. Solid waste management in the Arctic. Waste management, Volume 126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.03.021