Swedish recycling technology helps Los Angeles recover from the fires – producing soil for an area equivalent to 6000 football fields
As the smoke has cleared after the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles, the city is facing one of its biggest recovery efforts ever. The fires devastated huge areas of land and left the landscape dead and unusable. The soil was exposed to temperatures up to 2000 degrees, which has eradicated all biological activity in the soil. To meet this challenge, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, the state of California and a consortium of landowners are now bringing in the Swedish recycling pioneer Hummeltorp. The mission is to produce new, viable soil equivalent to 6000 football pitches and make the land usable again.
On Sunday, June 1, representatives from Hummeltorp traveled to California to participate in meetings with American authorities, organizations and the business community. The goal is to coordinate resources and begin the production of soil to boost growth in Los Angeles. In total, about five to seven million cubic meters of soil will be produced. The Swedish government has been informed of the efforts as Swedish innovation may play a crucial role in the reconstruction. Already on Monday, LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) announced that it will work with the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) and the LA County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) to provide Hummeltorp with resources and support to get started and promote business operations in Los Angeles.
This is not only an effort to restore lost land, it is proof of how Swedish innovation and sustainable technology can contribute to a stronger society, also on the other side of the Atlantic. The soil that we will now produce in the USA is as much soil as we have produced at Hummeltorp in Grödinge since the start in 1973. American authorities have shown great interest in Swedish technology in material recycling and soil treatment, as we are at the absolute forefront, says Christer Otterström, CEO of Hummeltorp.
Waste that is normally discarded, such as excavated materials, asphalt and concrete, is converted in Hummeltorp's process into new quality products such as soil, sand, crushed gravel, natural gravel and special materials that can be reused in new construction and environmental projects. By developing recycling methods and technology to correspond to the globally growing circular economy, Hummeltorp has created one of Sweden's most successful mass recycling companies, also on an international level. For mass handling, Hummeltorp has a recycling rate of as much as 96 percent. The average recycling rate in Sweden is less than 11 per cent and globally the average is less than two per cent.
Now more than ever, it is crucial to collaborate with international partners such as Hummeltorp. California can benefit from their world-leading technologies in recycling, soil restoration and soil production, providing an opportunity to not only recycle raw materials but also restore the vitality of the soil, says Coby Skye, CEO of Blue Skye Environmental Consulting, in L.A.
For more information or comments, please contact:
Christer Otterström, CEO Hummeltorp
Phone USA +1 212 256-1860
Phone Sweden +46 70 602 33 00
christer.otterstrom@hummeltorp.com
Published
Jun 5, 2025
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