The ECOTIC association implemented this year the project STEPS FOR URBAN MINING (https://www.ecotic.ro/stepsforurbanmining/), which offered the transfer of Norwegian know-how in the work of voluntary waste collection centers (CAV). An initiative launched in the context of the waste collection infrastructure set to undergo significant development in the coming years, 585 Voluntary Contribution (CAV) centers will be built by 2026 as part of the PNRR (National Plan for Recovery and Resilience).

The project is financed by EEA & Norway Grants “Steps for Urban Mining”, in the amount of 130,000 euros, facilitated the access of sanitation company employees employed by local public authorities to a series of activities aimed at providing the necessary expertise to manage these new collection centres:

• Webminer on the topic Municipal waste management in Norwaywhere the most important aspects of the project were presented with the active participation of Norwegian consultants
• Working visits to collection centers in Norway. in 31 representatives of local cleaners from Romania had the opportunity to see Norway’s experience in the field of waste management. The visits contributed to clarifying the mode of operation of these centers, similar to those that will be built in Romania, type CAV, and at the same time gave the participants confidence that this integrated collection system can be successfully implemented in our country. the country as well.

In order to promote best practices to as many local authorities as possible, as well as other sanitation operators, ECOTIC has also developed manual with recommendations for the operation of KAV available online at www.ecotic.ro/stepsforurbanmining. The recommendations in the manual cover all aspects related to the operation of the collection center: staffing, access, signage, communication with citizens, waste records, special areas needed in the center of the perimeter, and other interesting elements. Launched at the end of November, the guide received high praise from both the business environment and the authorities.

“Thus, I welcome the partners of this project in Norway, we should learn from the best practices of urban waste management in other countries, which have found an effective recipe and can share their experience with us. Now we have the know-how, we also have significant budgets, thanks to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan alone we have more than 1 billion euros to invest in WASTE MANAGEMENT, voluntary contribution centers, digital ecological islands, recycling plants and the list goes on continue,” said Mircea Fecet, Minister of Environment, Water and Forests.

The STEPS FOR URBAN MINING project is a successful initiative that supports the development of waste collection infrastructure in Romania by facilitating the transfer of know-how. ECOTIC wants to support efforts that involve the development of solutions to collect recyclable waste, especially electrical waste, from the public.

“The population, which has, on the one hand, the collection infrastructure at hand and is also informed, has every reason to contribute to the selective collection of all categories of waste and the recovery of some materials after recycling in order to move to a circular economy. We are happy that we, as an organization that annually conducts hundreds of informational and word-of-mouth campaigns, can rely on local authorities to continue organizing these campaigns and work together to properly inform the population,” he said. Valentyn Negoitse, President of ECOTIC.

Aspects of the project’s work and the resulting visits to collection centers in Norway can be found here.

The €130,000 STEPS FOR URBAN MINING project was developed by ECOTIC in partnership with InErgeo and is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA and Norway grants. The aim of the project is to facilitate the transfer of Norwegian know-how in municipal waste management and in the operation of municipal collection centers of the CAV type.

Article supported by ECOTIC