On July 29-30 the Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia held public hearings in Baghdati and Tskaltubo municipalities within the framework of the “Integrated solid waste management -Kutaisi” project. It the includes construction of a new non-hazardous waste landfill for the Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti regions and a network of waste transfer stations. All existing landfills of these regions will be closed in accordance with the standards.
Representatives of the Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia shared information about the project with participants. The importance of building the new non-hazardous waste landfill and the sanitary-hygienic situation in the region was discussed during the meeting. The company also listened to the comments of local residents and other stakeholders.
The main goal of the public meeting is to provide the public with information and account for their views and needs. It is important for the company to involve the local population in the site selection process. That is why the Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia developed a new stakeholder engagement approach called “Inform – Invite – Involve” with the help of international consultants, through which the people living near the proposed sites will be directly involved in the final site selection process.
The meeting was attended by: Koba Gabunia, Deputy-minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Zviad Shalamberidze, the governor of Imereti region, Giorgi Shujhoshvili, Director of the Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia, Mayor of Tskaltubo, Grigol Ioseliani, Mayor of Baghdati, Archil Gogsadze and representatives of Municipalities.
