30/03/2016
Kick-off of the cooperation project for waste management in Ukraine Twinning project funded by the European Commission and managed by FIIAPP.
Kick-off of the waste management project in Ukraine
The European Union is supporting Ukraine in waste management within the framework of a new Twinning project, managed by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).
This two-year project aims to improve waste management, as well as collection and recycling of electronic waste and used batteries, to guarantee a better level of environmental protection and human health.
The objective of this Twinning project is to adapt Ukrainian legislation on waste management to the rules and standards of the European Union through the introduction of effective and sustainable collection and recycling mechanisms for household waste and electrical equipment.
Ukraine annually generates nearly 500 million tonnes of waste and electronic scrap, which in many cases contain toxic materials. This amount of waste generates high levels of contamination, resulting in numerous health problems in the population.
The project is being led by the Austrian environmental agency in a consortium with Spain through the Council of Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change and Local Development of the Government of Valencia and FIIAPP, and by France through the International Office for Water.
In recent years, the European Union, with the aim of transforming waste into a resource, has introduced broad legislation on waste management that is reducing air, water and ground contamination in the member countries. In addition, it has served to boost economic growth and job-creation in the waste collection and recycling sectors.
At the kick-off ceremony for the project, held in Ukraine, the European Union Ambassador to Ukraine, Jan Tombinski stated that “we must be prudent with wastes, reduce their negative impact on the environment and human health. The EU is moving gradually towards a recycling society, the reduction of waste and its utilisation as a resource whenever possible. I believe that the circular economy can be a significant source of economic growth and employment one day in Ukraine, as it is today in the EU”.
