Around the world major companies are committing to sustainability goals, presenting a unique opportunity to final drive down waste. But corporate efforts alone will not be enough, as lawmakers need to create the right framework. This presents a great opportunity for Ukraine, which is currently struggling with household waste and overflowing landfills.
Recent decades have seen unprecedented economic development, pulling hundreds of millions out of poverty, and bringing new technologies into the homes of people across the globe. But that development has come at a cost, particularly for the natural environment itself.
Addressing the ecological challenges of the 21st century requires bold leadership and radical ideas. It is increasingly clear that politicians alone cannot provide the solution and that companies will need to step up.
Over the past several years many global players have stepped up – outlining ambitious goals that will help make the global economy more sustainable. Former Danish oil and gas firm Orsted re-focused on renewables and cut fossil fuels to less than 14% of power and heat production (as of 2019; it aims to go below 1% by 2025). Bank of America has pledged billions toward green finance.
One of the biggest shifts is taking place in the food industry, where companies like Mars, PepsiCo and Nestlé are tackling the issue of packaging (especially plastic waste), with the latter aiming high and pledging an astounding 100% of recyclable and renewable packaging by 2025.
Plastic and other packaging is growing challenge worldwide – accounting for close to a quarter of the waste generated per person (some 55-60 kilograms per capita annually). Much of that waste ends up in landfills, while some 12.7 million tons ends up seeping into the ecosystems of the world’s oceans, rivers and waterways each year.
With some 2,000 brands under its umbrella and a global presence, Nestlé, the world’s biggest food producer, has the capability to make a serious dent in this critical issue.
To make sure that happens, the global conglomerate has launched the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Institute aims to develop new packaging materials and solutions. According to Nestlé’s CEO Mark Schneider, this will help the company “minimize our impact on the natural environment.”
Indeed, delivering impactful reductions in the amount of waste generated from packaging requires a complex approach that includes collection, sorting, and recycling schemes. This means working with partners across the value chain, as well as industry associations, to develop new solutions and ultimately creating a market for recycled plastics.
“Nestle has taken the commitment to make all the packaging reusable and recyclable by 2025. To address the issue of waste management effectively it is not enough merely to create cutting-edge packaging ready for recycling, it crucial to have the system and route established in the country for this packaging to be collected and recycled too. Today in Ukraine we are at the very early stages to study and implement a well-functioning circular economy. This is a crucial transformation and in order to accelerate industry, governments authorities, civil society and consumers all have to work effectively and provide its own contribution. As part of this approach, Nestlé takes an active role in the development of well-functioning collection, sorting and recycling systems together with partners,” – said Alessandro Zanelli, CEO Nestlé in Ukraine and Moldova.
Waste management is a particularly serious challenge for Ukraine. Low tariffs on waste disposal, couple with poor and insufficient legislation result in the periodic municipal waste crises throughout the country. As little as 16% of waste is segregated, 5-6% is recycled, while the remainder lands in increasingly overflowing landfills.
Working with partners is key to delivering a step-change in the country’s performance. To make this happen, Nestlé will be launching a pilot project together with Veolia, one of the world’s biggest waste management companies.
Starting in August, Nestlé and Veolia will launch a pilot project in 3 towns around Kyiv that foresee a separate collection process of recyclables (plastic, paper, carboard, glass and metal), using best in class collection and recycling solutions.
The goal of the pilot is to increase recyclable collection rates by 20%, but more importantly to pilot a process known as Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR.
“Successful recycling requires an adequate infrastructure, which is currently not widely present in Ukraine. We therefore signed a partnership deal with Veolia, worldwide leader in waste management, to launch an innovative pilot project in several small towns near Kyiv, that aims at measuring the effectiveness of the increase recycling rates of household waste in Ukraine and therefore contribute to building a circular economy. We perceive this project as a test for nationwide Extended Producer’s Responsibility system – a strategy that holds producers accountable for the end-of-life impact of their packaging and encourages to implement eco-design. We are committed to finding improved solutions together with our partners to reduce, re-use and recycle. Our aim is to minimize our impact on the natural environment while safely delivering to our consumers healthier and tastier products,” – continued Alessandro Zanelli.
First introduced in Sweden but increasingly popular around the globe, EPR shifts the responsibility for waste management from taxpayer to producer. According to the OECD, assigning such responsibility provides “incentives to prevent wastes at the source, promote product design for the environment and support the achievement of public recycling and materials management goals.”
It has successfully introduced into legislation around the globe, and across a wide range of industries. In the European Union, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations have driven producers to set up collection points for small WEEE at retail points. India is finally making inroads into the countries infamous waste problem thanks to recent EPR rules.
A proper legislative framework is needed to fully take advantage of EPR, though. Ukraine has already started to embark on this journey, with commitments made to comply with EU directives and the adoption of a National Waste Strategy that sets the path until 2030.
Draft Law “On Waste Management” provides a legal basis for an EPR system implementation – it has already made its way through to parliament and was passed for revision to the profile committee. Business community in Ukraine is accepted that the draft law will be finalized taking into account the EU approaches regarding waste management system functioning and proper EPR implementation.
As a result, businesses operating in Ukraine are expected to undertake substantial investments in the country’s infrastructure and modernise the sector and trigger further investments.
