The PRO NATUR-PACK profiles itself from a long-term point of view as an expert authority in the field of waste management. The Environmental Department offers the legislative services for the customers, it actively contributes to the process of legislative improvement, it joins the expert events in order to improve its knowledge and to exchange the expert opinions, and it also supports its clients by means of consultation days and workshops. Respecting the frequent development of the related legislation and the need of separated waste collection and recycling proportion in Slovakia, such expertise in this segment will serve as one of decisive factors during the near future.
February 25th to 26th, 2019 – Berlin, the conference “Waste Management in the Circular Economy 2019”
The waste management in Europe is governed by changes towards the sustainability, especially by the implementation of the circular economy package. The legislative changes, new challenges and opportunities, as well as up-to-date knowledge of the available solutions in the waste sector towards the circular economy were presented during the conference entitled “Waste Management in the Circular Economy 2019” that was organized by the European Academy in Berlin on February 25th to 26th, 2019.
The following main issues were opened during the conference that is visited by the company NATUR-PACK each year:
Plastics and plastic products
The conference was opened by Mrs. Bettina Lorz, the representative of the European Commission, Directorate General for the Environment, with her contribution on the challenges related to the future implementation of the Directive on reduction of the environmental impact of certain plastic products. Dr. Ingo Sartorius, Director General for consumer and environmental issues of the European Trade Association Plastics Europe also contributed to the issues of the role of the plastics in the circular economy. Mrs. Vanya Veras from the European federation for waste management and environmental services Municipal Waste Europe followed during the second Conference day with presentation of the issues on plastics in the context of the producers extended responsibility in relation to the Directive on reduction of the environmental impact of certain plastic products.
Revised legislative framework on waste and the circular economy
Dr. Andreas Jaron, the representative of the Ministry of Environment in Germany, presented the practical impacts of the revised legislation in the framework of the circular economy package for the public authorities and self-governments. He reminded the ambitious targets of the approved waste package, new calculation rules for the target achievement where necessary reliability and accuracy of gathered data on the recycled waste as well as the losses subtraction related to the separated waste shall be ensured (e.g.: the weight of the recycled municipal waste is measured as late as the waste enters the recycling process). The achievement of the newly defined targets in the recycling sector will present an extraordinary challenge for all Member States. The deputy-chairman of the European federation of the waste management and environmental services Mr. Peter Kurth turned the attention to the new challenges and opportunities of the cross-border cooperation in the framework of the circular economy. Mr. Urban Boije af Gennäs, the representative of the European Commission, Directorate General for the Environment presented a lecture on creation of synergies towards the non-toxic material cycles by means of research and development and policy improvement. New challenges related to the revised legislation on the waste from electric and electronic equipment, the identified problems in target achievement and proposals for their solution by construction of “bridge across the distance to the target” were presented by Mr. Pascal Leroy from WEEE Forum (European Association for Electric and Electronic Equipment).
Other participants (some of them also with their own contributions) represented the ministries of the environment of Belgium, Lithuania, Slovakia, municipalities from Denmark, the consultancy company for integrated problem solving BiPRO and other associations and companies from the waste management sector, as Zero Waste Europe, VEOLIA, Ramboll Environment & Health GmbH.
The representatives of the European Academy again prepared an event that reacted to the up-to-date issues in the sector of waste management and they focused to the questions of changes resulting from the revised directives, from updates and amendments to the extended producers responsibility, questions related to the possibilities for the companies to prepare to such changes, to support the waste generation prevention, challenges to achieve non-toxic material cycles, or towards improved waste separation including presentation of the appropriate procedures. The conference offered also the workshop section that contributed to the information exchange in the framework of waste management system operation in the individual states represented by the participants, as well as the common brainstorming in the individual groups discussing the raised questions.
