Strengthening waste management capacities, a challenge also from a distance

Video conferences between experts from Spain, the United Kingdom and Israel combined with the ongoing use of digital libraries have allowed the activities of the Twinning project on Strengthening Waste Management in Israel to continue. This project, funded by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP since last year, is now adapting to the current circumstances, maintaining dialogue and joint work through the different existing technological tools.

For a week, the experts carried out 3 activities, aimed to strengthen the national strategy for sustainable waste management. In the first activity, led by an expert from the Spanish ministry of Ecological transition and the Demographic challenge the rules for the different waste streams and for strategic waste have been defined, drafted and approved. In the second activity the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) has drafted and approved an action plan to implement the new waste management policy in the country in a collaboration with a Scottish environmental protection agency.

Finally, a third activity has taken place in which guidelines on how to improve EPR schemes have been prepared and general minimum requirements based on EU best practices have been established (EPR is Extensive Producer Responsibility – a tool created to guarantee the financial responsibility of producers during all phases of their product life cycle). Furthermore, the institutions have detailed the incentives to increase the use of recycled materials in new products and the Israeli MoEP wants to learn about experience and its implementation in other countries (Spain and United Kingdom).

In order to be carried out at distance, the planning of these activities has involved all institutions taking part in the project including the EU delegation.