At an international conference held in the city of Thessaloniki last Thursday 23/6, the results and good practices of the project “Zero Waste Strategy: Methods and Implementation in Black Sea Basin – ZeroWasteBSB” were presented.

The conference was attended by project partners from four different countries, as well as representatives of organizations active in issues of waste management and environmental protection in Greece.

The speakers of the event outlined the framework of cooperation within the program, described the reality and the difficulties encountered in its implementation areas and shared good practices for waste management and water protection. Finally, through the signing of a memorandum of cooperation for the operation of the online platform bsbzerowaste.eu forum, the project partners pledged to continue and strengthen their cooperation.

Ms. Zekiye Syuleyman, representing the Kirklareli province administration from Turkey, which is also the project coordinator, cited figures highlighting the magnitude of the waste problem in the wider Black Sea region. He also described an ongoing initiative in 39 villages in Turkey on the Black Sea coast, for the cooperation of residents in the effort to recycle organic waste, through a system of reward and incentives.

From the Greek side, Ms. Tania Gouzouma, trainer of the organizations “ANTIGONE – Information and Documentation Center for Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non-Violence”, presented the actions created under the program in Thessaloniki, underlining that “we approached the issue taking all factors into account. , not only environmental, but also socio-economic. “When it comes to solutions, we need to understand that the solution is not just recycling.” Focusing on voluntary cleaning activities, Ms. Guzuma underlined that “by cleaning, one understands how big the problem is. “These clean-ups that we organized seem important, but they are nothing compared to the size of the problem.”

The project partners from Ukraine also participated in the conference via video conference, as it was not possible for them to travel to Greece. Through a presentation by Yelizaveta Turenko from the Institute of Market Problems and Economic & Ecological Research of the National Academy of Ukraine, after explaining that the effectiveness of the project was limited due to the war, she signed the importance of developing a strategic management plan of waste in the Odessa region, as well as some changes made to the legislation that encourage the collection and management of organic waste by local communities.

From the Bulgarian side, the professor of the University of Burgas “Prof. Asen Zlatarov “, Mr. Valentin Nenov, representing the municipality of Tsarevo. Mr. Nenov described the actions being implemented in the neighboring country under the program, stressing that Tsarevo belongs to the areas of Bulgaria that are close to the country’s recycling targets.

Finally, the biologist MSc, PhD Mr. George Blionis, made an extremely interesting presentation on water management in Thessaloniki over the centuries, emphasizing that the relations of the peoples in the area around the Black Sea last for many years and the cooperation between They are for the protection of water and the prevention of their pollution. The presentation was based on the book “Thessaloniki of Waters”, by Blioni G. and Tremopoulos M.

The “Zero Waste Strategy: Methods and Implementation in the Black Sea Basin” is a two-year project, which aims to raise environmental awareness, especially regarding the production of waste in marine and coastal ecosystems and to raise awareness for the reduction of waste production. and recycling.