Business Agency Association with a green proposal for the development of Varna
A proposal for new measures for financing, connected with circular economy implementation for citizens, submitted by the Business Agency Association, one of the CECI project partners, has been included in the updated Plan for Integrated Development of the Municipality of Varna for the period 2021-2027.
The proposal stemmed out of the activities of the CECI Interreg Europe project. The project idea included in the plan aims to encourage citizens to reduce the amount of generated household waste and to present opportunities for citizens’ inclusion in the circular economy.
The idea is included in Section "Green City" of the document and offers to provide conditions for projects, related to the participation of citizens in the circular economy for improved waste management.
Business Agency Association proposes the Plan to ensure grant funding for 20 projects in the amount of BGN 5,000 each. Citizens and organizations will receive the opportunity to participate with ideas related to explanatory, motivational and training campaigns on the possibilities of reducing the amount of landfilled waste from the collection point "from the doorstep", about the need to recover waste, unsuitable for recycling, extension the life cycle of the products, by the reuse, repair, exchange. The proposal will contribute to the better use of the territory of the municipality of Varna and its transformation into an example city - for the effective involvement of citizens in the circular economy through the application of pilot models.
The team of the Business Agency Association has achieved success in implementing the Action plan, based on the experience gained within the CECI Interreg Europe project - "Involvement of citizens in the implementation of the circular economy", as well as on the process of interregional learning. The plan was consulted with over 300 representatives of various interested parties from the Varna region, primarily citizens.
The proposals included in it are tailored to the current situation - the need to increase the role of the circular economy in Varna, the measures already taken and planned, as well as the strategic documents in response to the crisis at the national and the European Union level.
"The main reason for making the proposal for the selected actions is the understanding that citizens will be the main actor in reducing waste at the point of consumption, which will be the first step towards controlling its generation. In fact, the city of Varna is still seriously lagging behind in terms of achieving progress, related to applying the principles of the circular economy in the private and public sectors and in terms of the habits and practices of citizens", explained experts from the agency.
The proposals will be selected on a competitive basis after an invitation to citizens and organizations to submit their projects.
In parallel, a dedicated website, part of the Action plan, will be launched – www.circularvarna.com.
Experts from the CECI project team believe that people in Varna are already much more aware of the need to utilize waste unsuitable for recycling, the possibility for extension of the life cycle of products, the benefit of reuse, repair, both sharing and sharing, thanks to the activities in CECI project.
