The South Karelia Waste Board acts as a joint waste management authority for nine municipalities.
The task of the waste management authority is to carry out the official duties of organizing waste management in accordance with the Waste Act, which include:
deciding on waste reception and processing sites (Section 35.3)
decisions on matters related to waste transport (sections 35–38)
decisions on waste utilization and final treatment
decisions on municipal waste management regulations and decisions on deviations from waste management regulations (Section 91)
approval of waste tariff or tariffs (Section 79.3)
determining waste fees, collecting fees, deciding on reasonableness and handling complaints (Section 81)
Enforcement of waste fees (Section 145)
decisions on exemption from municipal waste management in individual cases (Section 42)
keeping a waste transport register (Section 143)
definition of quality requirements (service level) for municipal waste management services (Section 34)
other official decisions related to municipal waste management.
Waste management service level
The South Karelia Waste Board has approved the waste management service level until 2027.
The waste management service level defines the minimum level of waste management services offered to municipal residents throughout the entire South Karelia area. The service level has been determined jointly by the municipal waste facility and the waste management authority, taking into account the views of the municipalities.
According to the Waste Act, municipalities are responsible for organizing and providing waste management services to their residents.
The municipalities of South Karelia have decided to transfer the task of organizing waste management services to a company owned by the municipalities, South Karelia Waste Management Ltd. The waste company handles and tenders waste transportation (including collection from properties, emptying of regional collection points and transportation for energy recovery, material recovery and final disposal).
The waste management supervisory authority is responsible for supervising waste management at a general level and ensuring that the Waste Act and waste management regulations are complied with, for example in the following matters: littering and joining waste management.
The following are responsible for supervising waste management in South Karelia: