GIZ: Ukraine

Background

Despite the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the project activities continue as far as possible and in close coordination with the partners. The facts and figures given here refer to the period before the war.
In Ukraine, almost 98% of all municipal waste is dumped in landfills. Only few cities have differentiated collection for recyclables, which often do not function properly. Only 70% of the population is even connected to a public waste disposal network. Unofficial landfills are common in many areas. Landfills, in most cases, lack adequate sealing, gas recovery systems and leakage infrastructure.
Municipal waste management is usually carried out by public-private partnerships or private waste management companies. However, there is a lack of adequate recycling tariffs that allow waste disposers to collect and recycle waste separately. As part of the decentralisation process in the country, some power has been transferred to the regions and municipalities, but they do not yet have the necessary capacity to cope with their new responsibilities. With support of the German Development Cooperation, a national waste strategy was developed for Ukraine. It was put into force by the Ukrainian government in November 2017. The strategy provides for the reform of municipal waste management and the introduction of regional waste management plans. A regional waste strategy was adopted by the Poltava Oblast State Administration at the end of 2017.

Aim of the cooperation

The objective was to develop and implement a regional waste strategy for Poltava with a focus on sub-regional forms of cooperation in the region. The module makes a direct contribution to the development of sustainable cities and settlements (SDG 11), in particular to target 11.6: “By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management”.

What we do

• Policy advice: We supported our local partners in conducting baselinestudies, analysing the role of subregions in waste management planning, identifying best instruments of intercommunal cooperation and drafting solid-waste management plans.
• Capacity building: Together with German and Ukrainian partners, we supported the development of capacities at various administrative levels.
• Pilot projects: We prepared a report on the results and experiences ofthe pilot project and actively introduce them to relevant stakeholders in our partner countries.
• Strategy development: Together with our partners, we developed a strategy for sub regional cooperation.
• Reference documents: We prepared reference documents for the waste management operation and maintenance of technical equipment.
• Knowledge management: In the long term, we promoted professional exchange with German waste management companies.

Key results

• An analysis of the current implementation of local waste management plans in the western subregion of Poltava Oblast was conducted and recommendations for further implementation have been made available. Subsequently, a strategy for subregional cooperation has been developed.
• Working meetings and exchange visits were held for professional exchange with German waste management companies for knowledge transfer on waste management
• Information campaigns on public awareness in the field of waste management were conducted for the Poltava region
• A virtual 3D tour of the Poltava City Landfill was created as part of the educational work and awareness raising.
• An e-learning module (Zero Waste Academy) with online lectures about how to avoid, recycle and manage waste has been launched