For over a year, the SMART WASTE partners have been living by the rhythm of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although sometimes physical meetings were organised (like here in Kolding), most of the times it happened online (like for the BAMEE General Assembly, the LIFE WEEE final conference or the Steering Group meeting). Nonetheless partners always showed flexibility and creativity to pursue their objective to improve public policy instruments supporting innovation within waste management procedures.
For that, they evaluated different policies, exchanged on failures and good practices using a specific interactive matrix, and started working on policy improvements. They were especially focused on assessing to which extend the good practices already identified by one partner could help to address local failures on another partner’s territory. Their attention was geared towards topics such as innovative practices at all levels to support waste recycling from various industrial sectors (e.g. leather, textile and paper); successful experiences in separate collection of different waste fractions from households and possible barriers to the successful implementation of this kind of collection systems; use of smart technologies (e.g. smart bins) to collect waste at specific locations (e.g. Shopping malls, city centres); role of citizens and businesses in preventing / reducing waste and in ensuring the effectiveness of waste management systems; implementation of waste taxes based on pay-as-you-throw schemes.
As a result, it is no less than 12 Good Practices that are so far shared on the SMART WASTE website. Partners are also proud to see that a policy change has already been implemented by Kolding. Keep an eye on the website where more will soon be told about the Policy Kit developed by the Danish municipality to establish common tools and framework to work in a standard way on projects and evaluate, for example, its waste collection service.
Escaping from the planned activities, partners once informally met “just” to talk about waste management on our territories. It was last April and they liked it so much that they are actually continuing to call each other and exchange without specific agenda on topics central to SMART WASTE.
If you are a frequent visitor of this website, you might have noticed that SMART WASTE regularly reports on the latest developments, relevant reports, and interesting changes happening at the EU level. Revision of the EU waste shipment regulation, Sustainable Products Initiative, rise of pollution by masks and single-use items, EU plastic tax… Have a look at this news section not to lose any update.
Last but not least, the SMART WASTE partners are very proud to celebrate the project's second anniversary! We are now half-way through the project and are looking forward to bringing to life the policy improvement that are slowly taking shapes.
