The project "Plastic Waste in the Circular Economy: Community Solutions" is designed by AO "Verde e Moldova" in partnership with AO Training and consulting center "E-CIRCULAR" (previously AO "Association for Waste Valorification") with the financial support of the Small Grants Program GEF SGP Moldova, implemented by UNDP. The project will be implemented between June 2022 and November 2023.
The idea of the project starts from the importance and actuality of circular approaches based on the observance of the principles of the waste hierarchy and best practices (e.g. prevention systems, reuse, alternatives to single-use products) as innovative solutions in order to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated at the level national. The slogan of the project is #Relinquish PLASTIC
Project objectives:
- Completion of the Reference Study and Action Plan on Plastic Waste.
- Reducing PLASTIC pollution for "ZERO WASTE" Communities by promoting waste prevention and giving up single-use plastic.
- Developing responsible plastic waste management skills among teachers and students.
- Analysis of ecological and circular alternatives and solutions to reduce plastic waste in the tourism sector.
The actuality of the project for the Republic of Moldova is argued primarily by the increase in the amount of waste, including plastic, generated at least in the last 10 years, most of which is disposed of through storage. At the moment, the recycling rate of plastic waste is only 4-5 %, the rest of the generated quantities (estimated 34 kg/person/year) end up in landfills. Consequently, in addition to intense environmental pollution, there is also an impact on public health, especially due to single-use products made from a wide range of plastic materials in which various additives are added.
In the context in which Recycling plastic waste is not the most ecological option in reducing pollution, and the separate collection of plastic waste at the source does not guarantee its recycling, the project proposes the identification and application of several solutions with an emphasis on Prevention, Reduction and Reuse and respectively the promotion of the concept of "Zero Waste" communities for 3 beneficiary localities: Străseni municipality/ Căpriana Monastery, Orhei (Trebujeni village)/Orheiul Vechi and Soroca municipality/Soroca Fortress. Each of these localities, in addition to expanding the infrastructure for the separate collection of plastic waste, will actively participate in the identification and implementation of effective solutions to prevent plastic pollution, as the most effective, healthy and economical tool in the fight against this waste.
A first step in the implementation of this project is realization The national reference study and the Action Plan to reduce pollution with plastic waste. Plastic waste management has never been a subject of complex research at the national level, and through the medium of the study it is proposed to systematize the most relevant data in the field and create an online platform with interactive access to this information.
An important role in this project belongs to the young people from the beneficiary localities and not only, who will directly benefit from the planned activities through participation, exchange of experience, accumulation of new knowledge and last but not least the opportunity to learn new occupations and skills in the management sector waste and benefits resulting from circular economic models. In this sense, it is proposed to create the first online information platform "Club of young eco-innovators", which will bring together young people to talk, discover and share information about how to act circularly in a community, how to prevent the formation of plastic waste, what are the alternatives to single-use packaging, etc.
An innovative component of the project is circularization of the TOURISM sector in the beneficiary localities with the aim of identifying and promoting alternative solutions that can be implemented by national tourism operators in order to reduce the amount of plastic waste and the pollution resulting from this waste.
All project activities will serve as a fundamental information tool for the main national actors (LPA, national operators, producers, citizens, etc.) in implementing and achieving the objectives of the National Strategy for Waste Management, making possible the use of recycled plastic as a secondary raw material, increasing the amount of waste of plastic collected separately and reducing the amount of plastic waste stored.