In September and October 2024, a cycle of six regional seminars took place, aimed at discussing the implementation of circular economy measures in municipalities, sharing experiences, and seeking solutions to the challenges of waste management. This article summarizes the conclusions from the seminars held in Liepāja, Daugavpils, and Cēsis.
The seminar cycle was attended by more than 250 representatives from state and municipal institutions, waste management and recycling companies, non-governmental organizations, and educational institutions. The seminars were organized using the design thinking method LOTUS BLOSSOM TECHNIQUE. This method involves participants working in groups, sharing experiences, and discussing possible solutions to challenges. The use of this method gives each participant the opportunity to express their opinion, thus fostering new connections and the establishment of thought partners for future collaboration. This method is usually applied for experience exchange and the co-creation of new ideas, as it involves various stakeholders in group work.
To strengthen the transition to a circular economy and improve the waste management system at the local level, participants in each seminar discussed various challenges. The solutions based on practical experience and discussions on the improvement of the waste management system are summarized in the continuation of this article.
How to improve waste sorting in public places and events?
At the Liepāja regional seminar, the main discussion topic was waste management at public events – how to ensure that waste is sorted at events and how to reduce the amount of waste generated. The seminar took place on October 8, 2024, in the conference hall of Ltd "Liepājas RAS", with 42 participants.

As the main solution to reduce waste during public events, the use of deposit containers was proposed, making it a mandatory requirement in municipal regulations; and ensuring the availability of drinking water by informing event attendees about locations where drinking water is freely available and providing opportunities to refill drinking water containers for users.
It is important to inform event attendees about waste management options within the event area both before and during the event, with specific directions for attendees, for example, where containers for separately collected waste are available during the event, and where the nearest deposit point is located. Event organizers should also ensure the possibility of sorting food waste in the event area (preferably near the catering area) and ensure timely replacement of filled containers with empty ones to avoid a situation where attendees throw waste into incorrect containers.
The working groups proposed specific solutions for implementing these ideas, such as ensuring that waste containers at events are placed in visible locations for attendees and are attention-grabbing. Event organizers can provide waste disposal options for attendees with an element of attraction, such as a container designed like a basketball hoop – a "basket-bin". To avoid the need to touch container lids, seminar participants suggested using smart containers whose lids open as soon as someone approaches. However, this solution is financially intensive. An alternative to these containers could be containers without lids (or with the lid left open), which eliminates the need to open them manually. However, this approach is not ideal as it attracts birds, resulting in waste being found outside the containers. Regarding the event zoning, the catering area should be convenient so that attendees can stay there throughout their meal time, while also having the opportunity to leave their used dishes and food waste in appropriately marked containers close to the dining area.
Seminar participants discussed circular management of festive decorations. Working group members suggested that event organizers should exchange festive decorations so that they do not need to be purchased every year, or seek other options for shared decorations within the municipality. It is also important to support the use of local materials for decorations, preparing decorations that can be used for a long time. Municipalities can create special artistic installations from potential waste materials to draw public attention to current environmental issues.
Waste management in cemetery areas was identified as a challenge. Cemeteries generate a large volume of various types of waste that are harmful to the environment – candles, artificial flowers, and other materials used in decorations, and thuja plants. Seminar participants pointed out that cemetery visitors and maintainers need to be provided with guidelines for cemetery holidays and other ceremonial events, giving instructions on how to properly sort waste, what types of cemetery decorations are better to choose to reduce environmental impact, etc. There should be waste sorting containers available in cemetery areas along with information on what to place in which container, for example, in the form of pictograms. Municipalities can collaborate with each other to provide service contracts for wider area management, such as for the crushing of cemetery curbs or develop proposals for the reuse of cemetery curbs. Visitors to cemeteries leave waste generated during cemetery cleaning, renovation, and improvement works, as well as waste generated during cemetery events, in the cemetery area. The seminar suggested involving pastors in public education, as they are significant opinion leaders and can provide information in their congregation on how to properly manage waste in cemeteries.
How to improve the sorting of biological waste?
On October 23, 2024, in Daugavpils, seminar participants discussed issues related to improving the sorting of biological waste. The seminar was attended by 42 participants. Since the sorting of biological waste started in the country this year in January, there are many questions regarding the sorting of biological waste. All the solutions raised during the discussions can be divided into several topics.

Informing residents about sorting biological waste. It is important to ensure education across the country, starting from preschool and continuing with training for adults. Educational continuity must be ensured—so that the knowledge and skills acquired in preschool can continue to be developed in school. The training should include information about good practice examples, promote the adoption of good practices, and encourage experience exchange between residents, businesses, institutions, and municipalities. Information about composting, which the waste manager can offer to residents, is useful for the residents. A “messenger” – a well-known public figure, who encourages and informs residents to sort waste through their example – can be helpful in informing residents.
Availability and quality improvement of biological waste sorting services at apartment buildings. As the dirtiness of biological waste containers after emptying promotes unpleasant odors, the growth of insect larvae, and other problems, the waste manager must improve the quality of the biological waste collection service at apartment buildings. For example, the waste manager should offer containers according to the size of the apartment building, considering the number of residents and their sorting intensity, and adjust waste collection routes so that biological waste containers are emptied or replaced at least once a week during the summer season, and at least once every two weeks during the winter season. The waste manager should offer a paid service that ensures the availability of clean containers after they are emptied, either by washing the containers or replacing the emptied container with a clean one.
Seminar participants emphasized that informing residents is important so they know about the biological waste sorting options at their home and the financial savings they can achieve by sorting biological waste. Participants brought valuable examples of how costs for residents of a house decrease over the years as their sorting activity increases. In the working groups, a proposal was raised that the waste manager should provide feedback to residents about their waste sorting achievements to motivate and support further waste sorting and help them understand why it should be done. For example, the waste management or property management bill could include comparative information on a monthly basis for a specific household or apartment building, indicating the savings resulting from successful waste sorting.
Promoting home composting and community composting in municipal-designated or designated areas for garden and park (green) waste composting. This can help reduce green waste entering containers and also reduce the costs of managing it by taking it to recycling facilities at landfills. Home composting and community composting reduce the amount of waste buried in landfills and allow the production of high-quality composting material. In separately collected garden and park waste, plastic and other contaminants are significantly reduced or absent. Municipalities, following residents' proposals, should provide an appropriate area for composting and maintaining the area, controlling incoming waste, composting, and the process of issuing the finished compost. The waste manager or municipality should organize biological waste collection campaigns, similar to those organized for other waste, such as collecting leaves, fallen apples, pumpkins, or Christmas trees.
To promote home composting, municipalities, in cooperation with the waste manager or regional waste management centers, should create a home composting registry, allowing private homeowners to choose whether they sort biological waste in waste containers or register in the home composting registry and compost the biological waste generated in their household in a composting site set up on their property. Registering in the home composting registry also provides statistical data on the amount of biological waste collected in the municipality.
How to reduce construction waste and implement circular construction?
On November 30, 2024, a seminar was held in Cēsis, gathering 40 municipal specialists, building authority experts, business representatives, waste managers, and environmental activists.

Seminar participants in working groups emphasized that to implement circular construction, a systemic approach to the entire construction process is needed. The definition of construction waste and the end-of-waste status definition, the waste classifier, must be evaluated to determine whether they are in line with modern requirements and needs. Already in the design phase, it must be indicated what volume of waste may potentially be generated. Therefore, a practically usable methodology must be developed to predict the volume of construction waste generated based on the materials used. If construction is carried out within a simplified process framework – with an explanatory note and commissioning – the Construction Information System (BIS) often indicates that no construction waste will be generated. In this case, the municipality's building authority has no tools to check where the construction waste is going and how to control whether and how much waste has been generated.
Seminar participants identified the problem that currently, the material compliance declaration does not allow the use of recycled construction materials. Therefore, the regulatory framework needs to provide the opportunity to allow the use of recycled construction materials in the construction process, for example, by including the certification of recycled construction materials and conducting appropriate safety checks. The regulatory framework needs to provide that a requirement for sorting construction waste at the construction site is included in the construction project, and additionally, such a requirement should be included in the construction order.
The use of digital platforms is an important tool to reduce waste volume and promote the achievement of circular economy goals. The circulation of recycled construction materials can be promoted, for example, by designing buildings in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) system. Builders need an easy digital solution for identifying the availability of resources, the ability to view available recycled construction materials online (for example, a useful raw material bank), or the BIS should ensure the identification and availability of reusable construction materials.
Seminar participants suggested that municipalities should develop monitored and controlled construction resource recycling centers. These should ensure that materials are properly managed, even if they are not fully used for a specific construction project. Construction recycling centers could operate in municipal waste sorting sites. Municipalities, in cooperation with waste managers, need to work specifically on returning construction waste into circulation. Waste managers must consider the availability of construction waste recycling plants in the regions. However, a limiting factor for the use of recycled construction materials is the lack of material testing to determine the material status and quality.
Builders, architects, building authority, and municipal specialists need to improve their knowledge of circular construction principles so that these can be incorporated from the beginning of the construction process. In order for municipalities to include green public procurement principles in public building projects, they need methodological materials or guidelines that clarify the application of green public procurement and provide examples with various solutions. Therefore, it is crucial to provide information with practical examples of how various reusable construction materials can be incorporated into new construction projects so that the use of recycled construction materials becomes the norm rather than the exception. Seminar participants emphasized that construction projects should be developed in which embedded materials can also be reused after several years.
Seminar participants also offered practical ideas for developing new business directions. Participants suggested using used windows and window frames in the construction of new buildings, as well as creating businesses that specialize in the collection and recycling of construction waste. Participants suggested a business direction to develop adaptable modular houses, which can be expanded, reduced, or moved over time, adapting to household needs and changes in residence. They also recommended organizing more garage sales to promote the reuse of resources.