The waste management sector has traditionally been perceived as a high-risk industry, where the safety culture has lagged behind that of other industrial sectors. Remeo wants to build the future of the circular economy with safety first.
In 2025, Remeo established an entirely new role within the company, HSEQ Director, as part of a strategic transformation. Hanna Lehtola, who was appointed to the position, has set out to make safety a strategic priority that not only protects employees and the environment, but also serves as a driver of success.
Innovation from construction sites and mobile fire suppression capacity
Remeo has carried out a thorough assessment of the fire safety level at all 15 of its facilities, which has also led to targeted investments. During 2025, the focus was especially on the largest refining facilities, such as Mega in Vantaa, Rusko in Pirkanmaa, Juvanmalmi and Lappeenranta, where managing fire safety risks is most critical in relation to the risk levels of these sites.
Fire safety has been strengthened, among other things, by making use of data from ignition incidents and fires that have occurred. These lessons have been put into practice by improving storage management and material flow, increasing first-response firefighting equipment both at facilities and in machinery, and acquiring thermal cameras and water cannons that enable immediate response to anomalies.
Some of the best solutions have also been found outside the traditional waste management sector. One particularly inventive innovation has been the use of temperature loggers inside waste piles. The idea came from construction sites, where sensors are used to monitor the drying of concrete mass. Remeo is now using the same technology to track possible temperature changes deep inside waste piles and thereby detect the formation of a potential fire risk. This is entirely new in the industry.
In addition, facilities where access to water is more challenging have been equipped with mobile fire suppression tanks complete with their own pumps and hoses. These units, painted in Remeo’s green brand colours, have also received praise from rescue authorities for their innovativeness.
A change in safety culture is visible in everyday work
.jpg)
At the core of Remeo’s safety culture is management’s deliberate decision to allocate the resources needed for safety work. This has created the conditions for employees to act correctly in all situations and to actively contribute to the development of Remeo’s safety culture. Safety is not a set of top-down instructions; it has been embedded in every employee’s daily work so that everyone has both the authority and the responsibility to stop work if it is deemed unsafe.
Lehtola herself captures the necessity of this shift in mindset directly: “We genuinely have permission to stop a line or a vehicle if something does not feel right or safe. If we are not the ones making these safe, sustainable choices and at the same time developing the industry together with others, then who will?”
Once safety was made part of weekly communication, discussions, interaction and meetings, it became a natural part of decision-making and a shared concern that guides the daily choices of every Remeo employee. The hard core of safety lies in the competence, day-to-day actions and attitudes of the entire workforce.
Battery fires require close cooperation with customers
Remeo’s vision is to be the most responsible forerunner in the circular economy, “from end to beginning.” This means that safety and compliance begin where waste is generated. More than 55% of identified fire ignition causes at Remeo are now linked to batteries and lithium-ion cells. When a battery ends up in the wrong place, such as in a compactor or a shredder, the result is often ignition.
For years, the sector has also campaigned about the risks of discarded batteries and cells, referring to so-called “zombie batteries” that can reignite unexpectedly.
Remeo works in close cooperation with its customers. The aim is to help customers identify hazardous fractions already at the point where waste is generated. This protects the entire value chain, ensures the smooth circulation of materials, and helps customers meet their own sustainability obligations. Lehtola emphasizes that this requires open discussion: “We need to be able to challenge each other and work through risks together with the customer, and in this way help both the customer and Remeo to keep improving safety.”
More than 55% of identified fire ignition causes at Remeo are now linked to batteries and lithium-ion cells. When a battery ends up in the wrong place, such as in a compactor or a shredder, the result is often ignition.
The industry’s shared interest goes beyond competition
Remeo’s approach to safety is exceptionally open. Lehtola has actively brought the safety message to various industry forums, such as the National Emergency Supply Agency and the Finnish Recycling Industries Federation. At Remeo, safety issues are not seen as trade secrets, but as a matter of shared interest for the entire sector. The company has therefore coached others and shared best practices with authorities and even with its largest competitors.
Lehtola highlights the importance of cooperation: “Only by working together with other players in the industry, the authorities and insurance companies, and by drawing on everyone’s expertise and experience, can we make the industry safer.”
Lehtola’s vision for the coming years is clear: in the future, Remeo will be an organisation in which safety thinking is so deeply rooted that it has become almost self-evident. Whenever changes are planned or decisions are made, the first question will always be: how does this affect HSEQ matters?
When safety, quality and environmental issues go hand in hand, the customer sees this in concrete terms as responsibility, smooth operations, ease in everyday work and reliability. At the same time, Remeo is better able to respond to its customers’ needs and to develop HSEQ matters together with them, making the customer’s everyday life easier and strengthening the partnership over the long term.
