Even if a number of actions to manage waste were taken in the Republic of Moldova and the law on waste was adjusted to the European legislation, the recycling of waste and the Extended Producer Responsibility concept are not fully implemented, Adam Amberg, consultant at the Embassy of Sweden in Moldova, stated in the launch of the study “Implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility mechanisms to ensure waste recycling”, IPN reports.
The study was carried out by the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” in cooperation with the National Environmental Center and with the financial support of the Embassy of Sweden in the Republic of Moldova. The document aims to analyze the interaction of key players of the chain -producers/traders – consumers – recyclers – producers – state, the stimulation practices in this field and to propose mechanisms for stimulating the participants in this process to return and recycle waste deriving from consumption.
“Expert-Grup” executive director Adrian Lupușor said that Moldova’s legislation defines the EPR concept, but the mechanisms and practical instruments that would ensure the effective implementation of these principles are absent. The business entities that are potential waste producers are not stimulated to diminish the impact of waste on the environment and are not held accountable.
Sergiu Gaibu, programs director at “Expert-Grup”, noted that the waste generated by the population declined in volume, but this waste continues to represent over 65% of the total waste. “The organization of an efficient system for sorting and recycling waste generated in the final consumption process should be a priority in the national ecologization process. The EPR objective is to maximize the volume of waste that is collected from consumers for being recycled. This way, the environmental tax should be treated as guarantee for the organization of the collection of waste placed on the market and their efficient recycling. The Government should no way consider this tax as a source of income that is redistributed based on the executive’s decision,” stated Gaibu.
According to the expert, the authorities should make sure that the EPR mechanism includes sufficient stimuli for each of the participants in the process – producers, collectors, recyclers and consumers. The lack of such stimuli will significantly reduce the efficiency of this mechanism and this will not have a positive effect on the environmental pollution.
