CECI Action Plan implementation in Varna, Bulgaria
BAA Action Plan aims at tackling the Waste Management Program of the City of Varna. We managed to submit a proposal to an important strategic document for the development of Varna in the coming years, known as the Plan for Integrated Development of the Municipality of Varna for the period 2021-2027. This way we succeed in directing the attention of the experts in the municipal administration to the circular economy, in particular - the inclusion of citizens in it.
The plan is the main strategic document for the management of the municipality during this seven-year period. It links the comparative advantages and potential for development at the local level with a clearly defined vision, goals and priorities for development.
Municipal authorities understand the need for a complete change in the mentality of citizens and in people's awareness of the problems, but their efforts are not enough. An effective approach to the green transition requires the broad inclusion of topics in the educational process and the cultivation of skills for a responsible attitude towards the environment.
Business Agency Association proposed the Plan to ensure grant funding for 20 projects in the amount of BGN 5,000 each. Thus 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 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. The plan was consulted with over 300 representatives of various interested parties from the Varna region, citizens included.
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.
In parallel, we launched a dedicated website, part of the Action plan, – www.circularvarna.com. It is part of the "Citizens of Varna for the circular economy" - initiative at the municipal level. The site is expected to improve the understanding of the implementation of the Waste Management Program, based on the exchange of experience with partners, as well as engaging citizens in applying the principles of the circular economy and developing new "circular" business opportunities.
