News and Statements
UKRPEK organized a workshop and educational activities about separate waste collection in the Irpin community
The event was held within the walls of the Irpin City Council. The pilot project was presented by the Head of the Executive Committee of UKRPEC, Volodymyr Slabyi, the founder of the private enterprise “Rada” (the company that, according to the contract with UKRPEK, handles the transportation and sorting of packaging waste) Petro Semko, and the Mayor of Irpin, Oleksandr Markushyn, who also took on the role of discussion moderator.
Some of the meeting participants admitted that they had been independently separating packaging waste and taking it for recycling to Kyiv for a long time, so the UKRPEK initiative was a significant help for them. However, despite the generally positive attitude and readiness of the community residents to join the project, the discussion once again confirmed the notion that most Ukrainians lack sufficient information about the essence and mechanisms of EPR as a packaging waste management model. Therefore, informational and educational work with citizens is extremely important.
The UKRPEK pilot project will be integrated into the Program for the Development of Separate Solid Household Waste Collection in the Irpin City Community for 2024-2027, which was recently approved by the executive committee of the Irpin City Community. This will ensure comprehensive support for the initiative from the city authorities, municipal enterprises, and most importantly, the community residents.
As of today, 149 special containers have been installed at 80 sites in the Irpin community, but by the end of the year, their number is expected to reach 300. The direct management of waste and extracted valuable materials within the project is handled by the private enterprise “Rada”. The funding is entirely covered by UKRPEK members – companies that produce packaging and goods in packaging.
To ensure maximum efficiency of the system, UKRPEK aims to establish close cooperation with HOAs and community residents. For this purpose, a representative from “Rada” will maintain constant communication with HOA leaders or other authorized individuals. This approach will help optimize the number of containers, collection schedules, and other logistics involved.
At the beginning of the event, Volodymyr Slabyi, the Head of the Executive Committee of UKRPEC, delivered a detailed presentation on the EPR model for packaging waste management, its implementation mechanisms, regulatory framework, and others. Additionally, Volodymyr Slabyi introduced educational handbooks on separate collection of packaging waste for both primary and secondary school students, which will be distributed free of charge in schools of the community. Furthermore, he acquainted participants with an interactive map displaying the locations of containers across the community.
“In the Verkhovna Rada, there is currently a draft law under consideration titled ‘On Packaging and Packaging Waste’, which will initiate the implementation of the EPR model for packaging waste in our country. I am convinced that the example set by the Irpin city community and other communities in the Kyiv region, where UKRPEK’s pilot projects are being implemented, will demonstrate that our society is ready to adopt European approaches to packaging waste management in Ukraine,” emphasized the Head of the Executive Committee of UKRPEC in his speech.
The enterprise “Rada” has been involved in separate waste collection for 15 years. According to its founder, Petro Semko, the implementation of EPR could serve as an economic tool to elevate this sector to a completely new qualitative level.
“Creating a whole industry is at stake here. Such projects require enormous financial resources for infrastructure development, container procurement, transportation, and the construction and improvement of sorting lines. We have previously collaborated with HOAs, proposing they cover 50% of the tariff as a viable alternative to landfill disposal. This was particularly beneficial given the critical landfill situation in Kyiv region today. Packaging waste represents a significant volume, and implementing systematic collection, sorting, and recycling will significantly alleviate the burden on landfills. Thanks to UKRPEK’s funding, residents of the Irpin community won’t have to pay out of pocket, enabling a substantial scaling of the packaging waste collection and recycling program. Without a doubt, implementing a similar model at a national level is impossible without the involvement of goods in packaging manufacturers,” believes Petro Semko.
According to the founder of “Rada”, since only properly sorted materials are suitable for recycling, the most crucial aspect of the separate collection of packaging waste system is the level of environmental awareness among citizens. Currently, the task is not only to inform the maximum number of community residents about the project but, more importantly, to educate them on proper packaging waste sorting. For example, glass bottles mistakenly placed in the yellow container instead of the green one can break on sorting lines, significantly complicating the sorting process. Additionally, improperly disposed cigarette butts can not only destroy valuable materials but also damage the infrastructure itself –containers and the sites where they are located. Unfortunately, both scenarios are far from hypothetical.
To enhance awareness among residents, UKRPEK organized another educational event in the Irpin community shortly after the workshop, during the “Localist” festival—a fair featuring craft producers and community initiatives. Over 200 children participated in an educational game called “Sortuiko”, where they learned to sort household waste into three categories: a yellow bin for various types of packaging waste, a green bin for glass, and a grey bin for other household waste. Each child received colorful prizes: a backpack, notebook, set of colored pencils, and an informational booklet. Additionally, the festival host periodically announced prepared information from UKRPEK about the pilot project and the rules of packaging waste sorting from the stage.
The UKRPEK expects that such events will have a multiplicative effect, where community residents will share information with each other, and children, who learn quickly through hands-on practices of waste sorting, will spread their skills within their families. Moving forward, UKRPEK will continue its educational efforts in the Irpin community, particularly in schools and kindergartens.
UKRPEK’s years of experience indicate that waste management is an incredibly complex task. Achieving success requires overcoming numerous obstacles. For example, in Irpin, the UKRPEK has faced challenges finding suitable locations for container sites due to dense urban development.
Conflicts arise as well. During the workshop, residents of the Irpin community complained about individuals who, in order to avoid waste collection fees, unlawfully use others containers. According to some leaders of HOAs, installing video cameras and sharing videos of offenders on social media could help in such cases.
However, the goal of the pilot project also includes identifying problematic areas in the packaging waste management system and informing responsible parties—government officials and legislators—about possible solutions. Therefore, UKRPEK is ready to assist community residents in properly formulating and conveying their proposals (if indeed valid) to government representatives.
Another point of discussion during the workshop was the expansion of the separate waste collection infrastructure in the Irpin community not only to apartment buildings but also to the private sector. Participants agreed to conduct additional research on this matter and prepare proposals for upcoming meetings.
In general, the number of proposals and ideas that were voiced during the discussion (however far they may have been from the goals of the upcoming reform) demonstrates the lively interest that the topic of waste management arouses among the residents of the Irpin community.
The discussion within the walls of the Irpin City Council demonstrated that for the reform of packaging waste management in Ukraine to be successful, citizens must understand that its most important goal is to protect the environment from pollution and to implement principles of circular economy. s evidenced by the experience of European countries, the Extended Producer Responsibility model and the development of extensive infrastructure for separate waste collection are the most effective means to achieve this goal. The pilot project by UKRPEK in the Irpin community and other communities in the Kyiv region serves as an argument for all stakeholders that the successful implementation of such a system in Ukraine is feasible.
“Building a separate packaging waste collection system aligns with the best European practices and is also a requirement of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. As a European city, Irpin should move in this direction. The city government will do everything possible to support the UKRPEK pilot project. One of the key tasks is education. This is a long process. Teaching a child to read takes at least six months. But it is much more challenging to retrain someone who has never considered the impact of waste on the environment and has always simply thrown it away in the nearest bin. This will be a significant effort, together with organizers and HOAs. I believe that the Irpin community should become an example of effective packaging waste management,” emphasized Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn in his speech.
