AHK Uruguay2

In recent years, the circular economy has become increasingly important, especially as a tool that proposes solutions to some of the world's most pressing sustainable development challenges.

Considering this, a comparative analysis of the existing packaging return systems in Uruguay in terms of their impact on the environment, economy and society has already been carried out in 2020 as part of the Exportinitiative Umwelttechnologien.

This line of work was continued based on the results of the study and was launched with the creation of a group aimed at exchanging experiences and training environmental managers of the respective departments in Uruguay. The main objective of this group was to promote best practices, establish national and local indicators of performance in waste management and identify common challenges and synergies. In this sense, pilot projects were supported and carried out in the field of home composting and in the promotion of refill systems. For the private sector, training was provided in the form of a distance learning course for approximately 30 Uruguayan SMEs, covering the topics of circular economy, ecodesign, economic analysis, and the validation and implementation of circular products and ideas.

The project concluded with a technical trip to Germany, thematic visits, company visits to the sector, meetings with relevant stakeholders and the opportunity to exchange ideas with experts in the field.

The aim of the project was to promote the implementation of more sustainable systems for the coming years and to continue to accompany and support the positive development that Uruguay has experienced in recent years.