Waste management and circular economy are promoted in the Republic of Moldova with EU support

EU4Environment provided support for the development of the National Program on Waste Management in the Republic of Moldova, in which the provisions on circular economy and climate change adaptation in waste sector are integrated.

Under EU4Environment’s component 2.4 “Use of strategic approaches to waste management” UNEP supports countries in elaboration of the strategic and policy documents in the field of improvement of the waste management. Specifically, under EU4Environment’s component 2.4, UNEP assists the Republic of Moldova in the elaboration of the National Waste Management Programme (NWMP).

The draft NWMP in the Republic of Moldova, envisaged to be implemented during the period of 2022-2027, is being developed with a view to implement the Government’s Action Plan for 2021-2022. The Programme will contribute to the achievement of the objective of “the development by 2027 of an integrated waste management system, economically efficient and ensuring the protection of the environment and the health of the population“, and achieving the main indicators of sustainable development included in the National Development Strategy Moldova 2030.

The draft Programme has the main goal to improve waste management practices, in particular, municipal waste, identified as the most critical point in the field of environmental protection and promote circular economy, namely:

1. Enhancing the separate collection of particular waste in the municipal waste stream;
2. Increasing the recovery level of recyclable materials, including waste covered by the extended producer responsibility;
3. Establishing of a municipal waste collection infrastructure to help reduce the amount of waste landfilled and establishing an appropriate treatment system for each type of waste in order to protect the environment;
4. Promoting measures to reduce waste generation and reasonable use of waste material and energy resources, thereby reducing the use of natural and other resources and waste disposal in landfills.

This work is complimented by the regional UNEP activities within EU4Environment on the promotion of the Extended Producer Responsibility at the regional level for all 6 EaP countries, including the Republic of Moldova.