First workshop was held in Hotel “Moxy” within Southern Caucasus Regional Forum on Waste Policies and Management. The two day event was organized under “Integrated Solid Waste Management– Kutaisi” project of Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia. The Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Mzia Giorgobiani, opened the workshop and greeted participants from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The first regional event was focused on the topic “Landfilling”, during the workshop participants discussed successively selected aspects related to waste management and waste policies which are of particular relevance in the region.
Presented workshop key topics were: the institutional set up of landfills, the operation of landfills, the closure and the maintenance of old, non-regulated landfills and dumpsites.
This workshop provided a unique platform for in-depth discussion and exchange of over 15 specialists and high level representatives of all 3 participating countries. The participants discussed details of the respective national waste management strategies and plans and specific challenges in each country related to implementation.
The workshop has been organized by PEM Consult (“Accompanying Measures Consultant”) and its associated partners INTECUS (Germany) and GAMMA (Georgia) provide technical assistance and consultancy to the Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia (SWMCG) in order to improve its organizational and institutional capacities in the fields of quality management, human resources, financial planning, technical planning and public relations and communication.
The project “Integrated Solid Waste Management– Kutaisi” foresees implementation of integrated solid waste management system in Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti regions. The project is financed with a loan provided by KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Government; EU Neighborhood Investment Facility (EU-NIF) grants and Georgian contributions. Total investment of the project is 27,6 million Euros. Along with the arrangement of the EU compliant sanitary regional landfill, the project also foresees the closure of existing “Nikea” landfill located in Kutaisi, improvement of municipal waste collection, improvement street cleaning system and establishment of new transfer stations. Implementation of the above mentioned project will improve the ecological and living conditions of the region.
