AHK Baltic

The project was based on the EU Directive 2018/851 for waste, as all three Baltic States have siginficant deficits in this area. The EU-wide targets to recycle 50 % of municipal waste by 2020, 55 % by 2030 and 65 % by 2035 seem very difficult to achieve in the Baltics.

The Chamber of Commerce carried out a detailed needs assessment to analyze the current situation in the Baltic States. It became clear that (1) the separate collection of waste is insufficiently established and (2) the reuse potential of organic and material waste remains largely unutilised.

Baltic representatives were then brought together within a workshop. Under the guidance of a professional strategy consultant, a concept was developed that outlined concrete recommendations for the transition to a sustainable circular economy. In particular, the concept paper recommended (1) a rapid landfill ban for untreated organic waste and (2) the stronger integration of producer responsibility for the avoidance and recycling of packaging materials.

The transformation from a linear to a circular economy helps to reduce the burden on the environment and increases sustainability. The general understanding of sustainable waste management should be promoted through targeted knowledge transfer between Germany and the Baltic states. This should facilitate the transition to a modern infrastructure in the Baltic states.

Since Germany is considered an important trading partner and technological pioneer in the region, the transnationally organised  project additionally not only strengthed the multilateral exchange, but also the relationship between the four participating nations. The project also provided the opportunity to position German companies as partners for technology solutions in waste management.

Through the concept development, the Chamber of Commerce aimed to support the Baltic States in implementing the EU Directive 2018/851 in time. At the end of the project, the results were made available to political representatives, municipalities and vocational training institutions in all four countries. The aim was to draw attention to the environmental challenges in the area of waste management and the opportunities offered by environmental technologies.

National and regional business representatives as well as political decision makers can thus initiate targeted measures to promote a sustainable circular economy. In addition to sharing the concept, a study tour to Germany was organized. There, German solution providers presented their technology solutions and came into direct contact with Baltic representatives. This laid the foundation for the first German-Baltic collaborations and promoted the practical application of the developed concept - with the aim of establishing a sustainable circular economy in the region in the long term.