News

On May 23rd, the quarterly management group and partner meeting of the LIFE Waste to Resources IP was held at the Circular Economy Center “Daibe” (CEC “Daibe”) operated by Ltd. ZAAO. The meeting focused on reviewing the project’s progress, current achievements, challenges, and planning the next steps for the future.

Opening the meeting, Rudīte Vesere, Deputy State Secretary for Environmental Policy at the Ministry of Climate and Energy, provided an overview of the work accomplished over the past three years – ranging from asbestos collection initiatives to the implementation of new solutions in the circular economy sector. As Vesere noted, “LIFE Waste to Resources IP is the first integrated project in Latvia in the field of waste management, which for three years has been successfully tackling environmental challenges and delivering visible benefits to the environment and society.” A new asbestos support program is set to be launched soon, continuing the 2024 initiative under the project. “State support in this area shows how important these measures are and how meaningful our accomplishments have been so far,” Vesere emphasized.

Each LIFE project partner plays a vital role and contributes significantly. This quarter, Ltd. Zaļā josta successfully completed the installation of environmental structures on the beaches of Liepāja, which have already received positive public response – the cigarette butt bin on Roņu Street is already full, indicating responsible behavior from the public. Meanwhile, the Cēsis Municipality continues to develop its circular economy roadmap and integrated action plan, incorporating both local government-level activities and broader cooperation with various partners to promote sustainable living within the community. Upcoming initiatives include zero-waste workshops and waste reduction campaigns, with special attention planned for city festivals – events where waste generation typically increases.

Ltd. ZAAO is also progressing by implementing innovative solutions, continuing with the planning for a new sorted waste collection site and the development of a circular economy center in Vidzeme – strengthening the transition toward a circular economy.

Ltd. Latvijas Zaļais punkts has reached more than 1.5 million people with its communication campaigns, which continue through seminars and awareness campaigns aimed at reducing plastic waste. In this context, Ltd. Nordic Plast is also making a significant contribution by concluding the free plastic packaging testing phase planned in the project. Preliminary results show that about 70% of the tested plastic packaging is recyclable, while 30% is not, based on SIA Nordic Plast’s current recycling technology capabilities.

The CLEANTECH acceleration program is attracting new business ideas and innovations – for example, experiments with growing mushrooms on brewing industry by-product substrates represent creative uses of biological waste.

At the same time, association Baltijas krasti has conducted research on environmental tax systems and the feasibility of implementing a “pay-as-you-throw” system. The Environmental Education Fund continues its active educational efforts in schools and families, encouraging volunteer involvement and running environmental campaigns with special focus on marine litter issues. The annual “My Sea” campaign will take place this year from July 12 to August 12, calling on the public to participate in cleaning and protecting the coastline.

In the technology sector, Ltd. Druplat has fully installed a prototype device that has begun small-scale production – creating blocks for transporting wooden pallets made from wood waste and textile fibers. Although the development of a sustainable production infrastructure is ongoing, these are significant first steps.

The Latvian Construction Association is also actively promoting the use of circular materials in construction. They are planning educational seminars in the second half of the year and advancing the concept of a Sustainable Construction Code in collaboration with industry organizations. This initiative aims to reduce construction waste and promote reuse.

Partner Ltd. Eco Baltia vide’s LAB! store has delivered outstanding results by promoting the repair and reuse of electrical equipment, exceeding initial targets and reaching over 7 million users, with 900 repaired units sold over the last four months.

Food packaging mechanical separation equipment

Following the discussion of current updates and near-term plans in the first part of the meeting, the second part introduced participants to specific examples of implemented activities and innovations. At the end of the meeting, the management group had the opportunity to tour the mechanical food packaging separation equipment and visit the new biogas plant at CEC “Daibe”.

Biogas plant

All these achievements over the past quarter reaffirm the strong commitment and collaboration among project partners, helping Latvia step by step move toward more efficient resource use, waste reduction, and the implementation of circular economy principles in everyday life.