SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES FOR A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The current issue regarding the implementation of environmental standards and requirements in Ukraine, including in terms of waste management, separate collection of the mixture, is not the only one. Three or four decades ago, almost all European countries had similar problems. The implementation and modern technologies, the implementation of innovative projects in individual countries and even at the level of individual regions today have successful results and significant experience in solving them. European countries have been following this path since the early 1990s and plan to achieve 65–75% recycling in 2030. Ukraine prescribed the same indicators in the Strategy. The «road map», which the country received after signing the Association Agreement and obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership in June 2022, obliges Ukraine to implement the environmental standards of the European Union and to implement national environmental legislation to the European one. Over the past five years, a number of legislative and by-laws have been adopted in Ukraine. This is the Law of Ukraine on Waste Management, developed in accordance with the EU Framework Directive on Waste Management, the National Waste Management Strategy until 2030, the goal of which is to reduce the share of household waste disposal from 95% to 30%, the National Waste Management Plan until 2030. The implementation of the majority of the main provisions of the Law was slowed down by a number of economic and political reasons, including the military invasion of the territory of Ukraine by Russian troops. Given Ukraine's limited experience in waste management in terms of separate collection, it is important to find and implement sustainable initiatives in this area. The article examines the results of the implementation of such initiatives at the regional level in one of the most ecological countries – Switzerland.