Two Slovenian municipalities are the first European zero waste certified cities
The municipalities of Bled and Gorje are the first in the EU to receive a zero waste certificate among 462 local authorities that have committed to becoming zero waste. They are located in 11 European countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Great Britain and Ukraine.
Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) has launched the Zero Waste Cities and Zero Waste Cities Certification program to accelerate the transition to zero waste and the implementation of the circular economy in European cities. Certification is performed by ZWE’s spinoff Mission Zero Academy (MiZA).
After the successful implementation of its zero waste plans, the Slovenian municipality audited the third zero waste expert appointed by MiZA. They have proven the effectiveness of their progress in implementing zero waste and the circular economy, and have gained the status of certified cities with two-star accreditation, MiZA said.
The certification proves that the city is already performing much better than required by European goals
The two-star certificate means that cities are already performing much better than required by European targets, have a wide range of prevention, reuse and recycling measures in place, and work closely with a variety of stakeholders to facilitate their transition to zero. . waste.
Both Gorje and Bled are leading the way in waste and resource management and have a clear strategy for improvements that will surely bring even more stars in the future, the MiZA said.
Separate collection in Gorje is 75% and Bled 71%
Municipalities are popular tourist destinations. Together with the Slovenian Environmental Organization Ecologists without Borders (Ecologists without Borders), they managed to implement more than 40 measures to improve resource management and awareness, increase the level of separate collection by 7-11% to 75% and 71% and reduce waste residues. tourists by 16%, and their number almost doubled in the same period.
Every 3 years, Bled and Gorje will be subject to new assessments to confirm the status of certification with the possibility of a higher level, which will reach a maximum of 5 stars.
Zero Waste Cities have higher rates of separate collection and produce less waste than the EU average
According to MiZA, the rates of separate collection of 462 municipal bodies range from 7% to 93%. The best ranked city is Arcade Treviso in Italy.
However, the direct positive impact of these cities and municipalities can be noticed, as on average 67% of municipal solid waste is collected separately, which is above the 55% EU recycling target for 2025, the MiZA said.
In addition, the data show that 438 kg of municipal waste per capita is produced on average in these places, while the EU average for 2020 is 503 kg.
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