Holistic approach to waste management in the transition to circular economy

Introduction

The project will be implemented by a consortium of four Bulgarian partners and one Italian partner: Municipality Pomorie, NGO Club Economika 2000, Theoremus Ltd., national organization for separate collection and recovery of packaging waste Ecobulpack, and Zero Waste Italy. The project concerns the waste sector and will be implemented on the territory of municipality Pomorie, BG.

Background

The new EU and BG circular economy and waste management policies pose ambitious waste targets. To achieve them, Bulgarian municipalities should take immediate measures to adopt a new circular approach and significantly improve waste management. However, they don’t have sufficient capacity and knowledge to transform their waste management systems, which are characterized by the prevailing landfilling of waste.

Project Objectives

The project aims at pioneering an innovative holistic approach to household waste management in Bulgaria with the specific objectives to:

1. Increase the capacity of MP to develop, implement, and manage a new integrated waste management system and to work in cooperation and constant dialogue with the stakeholders.
2. Ensure software, technical, and institutional infrastructure for the collection of mixed and separately collected household waste and to implement new door-to-door waste collection and PAYT schemes.
3. Increase the knowledge and engagement of residents to practice sustainable consumption, prevention, and separate collection of waste.
4. Catalyse large-scale replication of the good European practice introduced under the project in Bulgarian municipalities.

Work Packages

The project comprises 5 Work Packages:

• WP1: Project management and coordination.
• WP2: Preparatory actions.
• WP3: Introduction of the innovative system for moving to a circular model in waste management through implementation of door-to-door waste collection and PAYT.
• WP4: Raising awareness and participation of local stakeholders.
• WP5: Sustainability, replication, and exploitation of project results.