Waste management in transition economies (WaTra)
Transition from planned to market economy has been a great challenge for all post-socialistic states of the former Eastern Block. Public services which were previously to a major extent subsidised by the state needed to be adapted to the new economic realities. In this respect, the municipal waste management sector (WM) is usually the most problematic due to its chronic state underfinancing, noticeable influence on the urban image, as well as significant negative impact on the environment.
The goal of the project is to support the sustainable reformation process of the waste management sector in Belarus and Ukraine through enhancement of international cooperation and capacity building of the partner universities and other stakeholders in the field of waste management.
Comparative study of the WM systems in partner countries will be jointly developed by interdisciplinary group of young researchers, PhD and MSc students. Successful country-specific strategies, as well as gaps will be identified, especially with respect to the waste hierarchy and brand-new EU “Zero Waste” strategy. The Roadmap for economically feasible country-specific WM strategies will be developed. Here, the experience of Eastern Germany and Austria (highest waste recycling rate in EU) will serve as examples of progressed post-socialistic and western economy.
The results of the study will be presented two workshops in Belarus and Ukraine. Workshops will include also trainings, where overview of the state-of-the-art WM technologies, legal & economic incentives and country-specific successful strategies will be provided. Events will be targeted at broader external stakeholders’ audience: WM companies, academia, policy makers and local authorities.
Finally, the project proposal for further cooperation (e.g. Erasmus+) will be jointly developed and submitted at the end of the project, ensuring continuation of started cooperation beyond the project lifetime.
The project activities are summarised below:
- Development of study and roadmap: “Reforming of the waste management in post-socialistic economies: case studies Eastern Germany, Ukraine and Belarus”.
- Two workshops and trainings in Ukraine and Belarus on sustainable waste management.
- Development of the project proposal for further cooperation (e.g. Erasmus+ etc.)