The World Recycling Day was introduced in 2018 at the initiative of the Global Recycling Foundation to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and the value of waste as a resource. The Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management reminds us of this.
By signing the Association Agreement, Ukraine has committed itself to the gradual approximation of its waste management legislation to the standards of the European Union.
As of today, the requirements of the (Framework) Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and the repeal of certain directives have been implemented into national legislation with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Waste Management" by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in June 2022, No. 2320-IX.
The provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Waste Management" provide for the introduction of best practices in waste treatment; reduction of waste disposal at landfills; attraction of investments in waste management and creation of modern waste management infrastructure; reduction of the number of waste management facilities that do not meet the requirements of the law; compliance with environmental safety requirements during the operation of waste management facilities and reduction of social tension; increase in the volume of collection, procurement, and recycling of waste.
This Law is the basis for the introduction of extended producer responsibility systems for producers of certain types of goods, including packaging.
Legislative regulation of packaging waste management is provided for in the draft Law on Packaging and Packaging Waste (Reg. No. 10066 of 18.09.2023) registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and alternative draft laws on packaging and packaging waste (Reg. No. 10066-1 of 29.09.2023, Reg. No. 10066-2 of 04.10.2023). These draft laws are currently under consideration by the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, which has set up a working group to review them.
Special attention should be paid to the destruction waste generated as a result of russian military aggression. In particular, there are questions about general approaches to managing demolition waste, ways of processing it, and its economic potential for the production of new products.
One of the key areas of state policy is to educate the population about the conscious attitude to waste as a secondary raw material, not as garbage.