Modernising waste management in Georgia
A delegation from the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture visited Austria and among other institutions Umweltbundesamt – Environment Agency Austria – in the first week of July to study advanced European practice in waste management focussing on extended producer responsibility in Austria. This principle is now to be implemented in Georgia, based on a modern waste management act which was developed in an EU Twinning project led by the Environment Agency Austria, and is now successfully contributing to fulfil the terms of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement in the area of waste management.
Deputy Minister Solomon Pavliashvili thanked the Environment Agency Austria and all Austrian institutions for the valuable information and inspiration provided to the Georgian delegation. “Austria has a long-standing experience in implementing the principles of modern waste management in Europe, and we are pleased to provide again our support to Georgia for successful implementation of its partnership with the European Union”, says Georg Rebernig, Managing Director of the Environment Agency Austria.
"Austria has a long-standing experience in implementing the principles of modern waste management in Europe, and we are pleased to provide again our support to Georgia for successful implementation of its partnership with the European Union."
The delegation, led by Deputy Minister Pavliashvili, met and discussed with the Waste Management Directorate of the Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism, on packaging waste with the producers responsibility organisation ARA and the clearing house VKS, and on electronic reporting and registers with the Environment Agency Austria. They were introduced to the principles and practical conditions of waste management in cities (Municipalities of Vienna and Salzburg) and in the mountainous countryside of Austria (waste management association of Pongau) as a model for organising waste management in the mountainous areas of Georgia.
The programme also included visits to waste treatment installations and recycling centers, both in Vienna and Salzburg, including advanced practice of recycling construction waste in which Austria is one of the leading countries in the European Union. Social-econonomic aspects of waste management were demonstrated in Vienna by DRZ, where long-term unemployed people are trained in manual dismantling, repairing and upcycling Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The Environment Agency Austria in a nutshell
The Environment Agency Austria is Austria’s most important environmental expert institution and, with a demonstrable track record of more than 100 projects in 27 countries in eastern and south-eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean countries, an experienced project partner. The Environment Agency Austria stands for a transformation of the economy and society to ensure sustainable living. Our experts develop the basis for decision making at local, regional, European and international level. Since 1999 the Environment Austria has been supporting central and south-eastern European authorities in institutional capacity building and in the implementation of EU legislation.
