What the Waste Sector Reform is Preparing for Us: As part of the project “Framework Law on Waste Management”: Analysis from the Perspective of Zero Waste Principles’, we analysed the framework law ‘On Waste Management’ and found out what this law provides for, what nuances it has, and whether it is in line with Ukraine’s European integration course.

In March-April 2023, members of the Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine – Ecological News NGO (Kherson) will be working on a survey of Kyiv residents and analysing information on whether they are currently engaged in organic waste sorting. The survey is being conducted to develop recommendations for improving the situation with food waste recycling in Kyiv.

Zero Waste Cities is a programme by Zero Waste Europe to help cities and communities move towards the concept of zero waste. A resident of a zero waste city produces no more than 6 kg of waste per year. The rest is sorted, composted or reused. Zero waste cities have no landfills or incinerators. Residents live by the principle of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ – they prevent unnecessary purchases, reuse and sort. This concept also implies the rejection of everything disposable (crockery, bags…). All organic waste goes to compost. There is an independent Zero Waste Cities certification that provides clear criteria and a plan for minimising waste.

On 3 July 2019, on the occasion of the International Plastic Bag-Free Day, the United Nations Development Programme, together with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Green Energy of Change inter-factional association of MPs and Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine, held a ‘Plastic Free Day’ campaign. The aim of the campaign was to refuse from polyethylene to draw public attention to the problem of excessive consumption of disposable plastic products and, as a result, irreparable environmental pollution by plastic waste. The campaign was preceded by an extensive information campaign to promote affordable eco-friendly solutions to replace plastic among consumers of retail chains, supermarkets and retail stores.

Brand audits are conducted by activists in cities around the world. They check the contents of garbage bins and identify the largest companies that pollute the environment. The purpose of this campaign is to understand what is actually in our garbage bins and which businesses are involved in the production of certain containers, packaging and garbage. In Ukraine, the organisations that are members of the Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine have conducted brand audits three times (2019-2021). Polluting companies are addressed with requests for opportunities to reduce their waste.
The main idea is that we should not just clean up to make it clean. We need to clean up to understand who creates waste. As part of this campaign, many countries around the world clean up on the same day, collecting a huge amount of data on who is the biggest polluter in the world. After the clean-up, the garbage is made into a flatlay: all types of waste are laid out on the ground and its producers are identified. The data is sent to the #breakfreefromplastic headquarters.

3 July is the International Plastic Bag Day. On this day, we invite Ukrainians to join the Day Without Plastic campaign. Plastic bags should be replaced with paper ones or eco-bags and knitted bags should be used. The aim of the campaign is to shape new environmental behaviour and draw attention to the problem of excessive consumption of disposable plastic products and, as a result, irreparable environmental pollution by plastic waste.

#Еnvironmenstrualweek — is an international campaign that has been taking place around the world since 2018 and aims to actively raise awareness of various aspects of menstruation, including the dangers of disposable menstrual products and their impact on women’s health and pollution.

As part of Eco-Monthly Week, Zero Waste Alliance member companies are developing informational stickers for public toilets and catering facilities, through which we recommend the use of reusable menstrual hygiene products. We also actively promote the campaign in local and national media.