IMA at Avfall Sverige's Autumn Meeting
IMA took the stage at the Autumn Meeting hosted by Avfall Sverige (Swedish Waste Management) in Linköping on 3–4 November, speaking to an audience of around 500 professionals from the waste management and recycling industry. We were invited to share our perspective on how smart design, innovation and collaboration can make waste sorting easier in everyday life, and how we can work together to make it easier for people to do the right thing.
An Important Meeting Place for the Waste Management Industry
Avfall Sverige is the Swedish Waste Management Association, representing Swedish municipalities and their interests in waste management and recycling. The organisation supports its members, drives industry development and works towards more sustainable waste management in Sweden.
Its annual Autumn Meeting brings together professionals from across the industry to share knowledge, discuss current challenges and exchange experiences.
Over two days in Linköping, around 500 participants gathered, including representatives from municipalities, municipal waste management companies and other organisations working in waste management and recycling.
For us at IMA, it was both inspiring and valuable to take part in an event that brings together so many different perspectives. Above all, we were proud to have been invited to contribute to the programme as speakers.
A Different Perspective on Waste Sorting
In our presentation, "Design for Easier Everyday Living – From Seven Waste Fractions to Smart Solutions at Home," we highlighted a topic close to our hearts: how waste sorting actually works where waste is generated.
Because even when we know how to sort our waste, another equally important question remains:
Where do we put it all?
As more types of waste need to be separated, we also need to make room for them. But our kitchens and storage spaces don't automatically get bigger as our needs change.
This was the starting point for our presentation. We wanted to show how we at IMA work to understand people's everyday lives and turn those insights into smart, user-friendly solutions.
Through practical examples from our product range and development work, we demonstrated how everyday challenges can be addressed by thinking differently, making smarter use of existing space and questioning traditional approaches to planning waste sorting.
Better Solutions Start with Better Planning
Another important part of our message was the value of collaboration.
At IMA, we work closely with the kitchen industry, developing solutions designed to work in the spaces where people live and work. At the same time, the conditions for effective waste sorting are influenced by how waste management evolves and the requirements placed on sorting.
That's why we believe closer dialogue between our industries can make a real difference.
When waste sorting is only considered after a kitchen has already been designed, the possibilities are often limited. By considering waste sorting earlier and sharing knowledge about both users' needs and developments in waste management, we can create better conditions from the very beginning.
This was also one of our key messages to the audience:
We don't just need to help people understand how to sort their waste. We also need to make it easier for them to do the right thing.
Inspiring Conversations and New Perspectives
Beyond the opportunity to speak, our days in Linköping were filled with interesting conversations and valuable connections.
Listening to and exchanging ideas with people who approach waste management from different perspectives gave us new insights to bring into our continued work.
The Autumn Meeting was also a reminder of how important it is to connect across industries. We bring different knowledge and experiences to the table but share the ambition of making waste sorting work better.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Avfall Sverige for the invitation and the trust placed in us as speakers, and to everyone who contributed with questions, ideas and inspiring conversations throughout the event.
We look forward to continuing the dialogue and finding new ways to make it easier for people to sort their waste correctly.
Not just for better waste sorting. But for easier everyday living.