The eco-charge is charged to all households and holiday homes in the Stormossen area. The eco-charge is used to maintain eco-points, waste reception stations, campaign collections and waste advice, among other things.

The eco-charge is based on the waste legislation, under which both permanent and holiday residents are obliged to contribute to the investment and maintenance costs of the service facilities set up by the municipality for the management of waste from their property.

The Vaasa Region Waste Committee (Vaasan seudun jätelautakunta) has established a fee, which is a so-called public charge. Therefore, no contract between the municipality and the property owner is required. According to the Waste Tariff, Stormossen will take care of the invoicing. The Waste charge is available on the Waste Committee’s website www.jatteet.fi (external link in Finnish).

From 1.1.2023, the eco-charge for properties with 1 to 4 apartments will be calculated per apartment and not on the basis of the number of residents, as was previously the case. The same applies to properties with five or more residential units.

The eco-charge does not apply to the collection, transport or treatment of bio-waste and incinerable waste. The eco-charge covers the costs of free and underpriced services provided by Stormossen. E.g. maintaining eco-points, waste reception stations, campaign collections and waste advice.

The eco-charge was last increased in 2014. Since then, the service level has been significantly increased and visits to the recycling stations do not entail any additional cost for the customer. The number of visitors to the stations has increased by 40% over the last five years, and with it the amount of waste collected, which leads to additional costs. In addition, the collection of waste textiles had to be organised by law from 1 January 2023.

• ecopoints and waste reception stations are available to households. Hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated in the apartment/vacation home will be taken free of charge to one of these collection points. A customer card entitles the holder to unlimited access to the recycling station. You can bring one trailer (2m3) of waste at a time.
• the cost of collection, transport and treatment of hazardous and non-hazardous waste; collection paper, cardboard, metal, glass, cardboard and plastic packaging, wood waste, gypsum, concrete, bricks, styrofoam, twigs and branches, waste electrical and electronic equipment and end-of-life textiles for which no treatment fee is charged. Hazardous waste includes environmentally hazardous substances such as batteries and accumulators, fluorescent lights and energy-saving light bulbs, waste oils and other oily wastes, paints, glues and varnishes, impregnating agents, solvents, pesticides and pressure treated wood.
• collection campaigns (Ecobil, Pidä Saaristo Siistinä, Mikromossen)
• Information and advice services

By law, tax money cannot be used to cover the costs of waste management.

From 1 January 2023, Stormossen will invoice the eco-charge for detached and small houses (1-4 apartments) four times a year; in April, July, October and January. Unfortunately, for technical reasons, this plan could not be implemented and the eco-charge invoice is including the eco-charge for second, third and fourth quarter together with the treatment fee for combustible waste.

In addition to the eco-charge, the invoice will include a fee for the treatment of combustible waste, which was previously billed by the transport company. Some transportation companies also allow Stormossen to invoice the emptying fee, in which case this will also appear as a separate charge on the same invoice. In addition, the invoice will include the biowaste disposal fee for the properties concerned.

In 2023, the billing practice will change so that the eco-fee, the processing fee for combustible waste  (delayed for technical reasons) and later the biowaste emptying fee for the same period will always be billed for three months (quarterly) on the same invoice. This applies to properties with 1-4 apartments.

Unfortunately, it is not technically possible to make an exception to the billing or payment schedule for the eco-charge.

Stormossen will add a fee on paper invoices starting 1.7.2023. The fee is 2,36€/invoice (incl. VAT). This will cover the cost of paper invoices.

You can choose to be invoiced by e-invoice via your own online bank or by e-mail invoice by informing us at asiakaspalvelu@stormossen.fi. Direct payment can be used if online banking is not an option. In this case, please contact your bank.

The procedure is mentioned in the bill:

“The person liable to pay has the right to lodge a reminder within 14 days of receipt of the payment slip with the authority responsible for determining and collecting the waste fee, i.e. the Vaasa Regional Waste Management Commitee. 06-325 42 06, jatelautakunta@vaasa.fi.

The fee must be paid within the period indicated on the fee slip or on the new fee slip sent in response to the reminder, regardless of any appeal.”

Yes, at most 14 days after the due date. The billing number and the name of the customer needs to be delivered to laskutus@stormossen.fi.

The reminder procedure is mentioned in the bill:

“Overdue payment

If the payment is not made on time, the amount due will be subject to annual interest on arrears of 11% (1 July – 31 December 2023) from the due date. The payment due may be seized from the debtor without a judgment or decision in accordance with the procedure for the recovery of taxes and duties by enforcement.”

The person liable to pay the quarterly share of the eco-charge is the person who is registered in the property at the beginning of the month. If you have received an invoice for months when you haven´t been registered in the property, please contact customer service.

According to the Waste Fee, each residential property used for permanent housing in the Stormossen area, as well as holiday homes used all year round, is liable to pay a household eco-charge. The eco-charge for residential properties is determined on a apartment basis. The eco-charge is applied for each month and is collected four times per year. Therefore, the temporary vacancy of a apartment does not exempt it from the obligation to pay the eco-charge.

The eco-charge does not apply to waste generated on a daily basis, for which a waste collection service must be provided, but is a basic charge within the meaning of the Waste Act, which finances, among other things, the costs of recycling stations, the network of ecopoints and information and advice. The eco-charge entitles you to unlimited access to our waste reception stations, where you can deliver, for example, household waste (e.g. from renovation work) and hazardous waste free of charge.

The amount of the charge takes into account the fact that the holiday home is only used for part of the year. The holiday home’s eco-charge is applied in almost every municipality where the eco-charge is in place.

If there are two buildings on the same property, one of which is an actual holiday home and the other is a sauna building, for example, the public register will show two holiday homes. This will be corrected in our customer register and will not be repeated in next year’s billing. The invoice number and the name of the customer should be sent to laskutus@stormossen.fi.