Now, the local residents can take their old household equipment to the site themselves, whenever convenient, without having to wait for the municipal services to pick up their e-waste. In addition, the site will have containers for plastics, paper, glass, mercury-containing lamps – thus, one could take all sorted waste out in one trip.
The site is located at Žylceplaservis Municipal Solid Waste Sorting Centre at 131 Akciabrskaja Street in Marjina Horka. The site can be easily identified by vivid banners decorating its walls.
The opening ceremony was attended by EU Delegation to Belarus Project Coordinator Taru Kernisalo, Yulia Yablonskaya from Ecopartnership International NGO, Žylceplaservis Director Iosif Kučka and media representatives.
− Waste treatment in Puchavičy District has improved in the recent years. On the one hand, it is due to the fact that waste treatment issues are a national top priority; also, owing to the EU-funded project, many issued were expedited based on international approaches, - emphasized Ms Yulia Yablonskaya, - The work on waste treatment under European projects began in Puchavičy District in 2010, when a municipal waste treatment strategy was developed, back then it was the first in the country. When we look back at it now, we can see that many of what was stipulated in the strategy have come true.
After the opening speeches and red ribbon-cutting ceremony, the guests were demonstrated the site operation from the inside. It is divided into three sections: in one, people can leave their old equipment, in the second – batteries, in the third – plastics, paper and glass. The containers have labels instructing what and where should be left.
Then, the event guests paid a visit to the Ananičy Learning and Pedagogical Kindergarten & School Complex, the winner of the used battery collection contest held among the Puchavičy District educational institutions. Journalists had an opportunity to talk with those schoolchildren who the most active in battery collection and observe an organic waste composting container that also provided to the school under the project. It helps the school staff obtain a valuable fertilizer from mowed grass and other green waste.
The site opening is an activity of the EU project aimed at development of the waste treatment sphere in Puchavičy District. During the 2.5 years of the project implementation, used battery collection containers were installed in public places, a mini-van was procured for collecting e-waste in rural locations, a bulldozer was procured for elimination of illegal dumps; other infrastructural elements was built to make the waste collection system in the district more convenient and eco-friendly.
The waste treatment infrastructure improvements are supported with wide-scale awareness work with the district communities, such as conduct of contests, events and seminars, publication of brochures and posters, installation of thematic billboards.
The events are carried out with financial support from the EU-Funded Project on Strengthening Waste Management Services for the Rural Population of Puchavičy District, Minsk Region. The project partners are Puchavičy District Executive Committee and Ecopartnership International NGO.
Photos by: Paval Šnip (Minskaya Pravda Newspaper) and Ecopartnership International NGO.
