Ministry of Environment staff learned EU best practices in waste management and ‘Waste to energy’ concept during a study visit to Lithuania

A delegation of the Ministry of Environment, together with the EU High-Level Adviser on Green Transition, Justina Grigaravičienė, paid a study visit to Lithuania on 16-20 May 2022, to get acquainted with EU Member States’ best practices in waste management in line with EU environmental standards.

The Ministers of Environment of the Republic of Moldova and of the Republic of Lithuania, Iuliana Cantaragiu and Simonas Gentvilas, discussed the EU’s environmental agenda, challenges, and opportunities to tackle climate change and other important environmental issues, collaboration, and exchange of best practices between countries to support Moldova in meeting its commitments under the Association Agreement.

The Moldovan delegation got acquainted with the Lithuanian deposit system for beverage packaging, which is considered one of the best in the European Union, helping Lithuania to have the highest beverage packaging waste collection rate in the EU – over 90 percent.

During the study visit, the delegation also visited the Regional Municipal Waste Management Centre in Alytus District to familiarize with the management practices. The Republic of Moldova intends to develop a regional municipal waste management system.

Another spot was the municipal waste co-incineration plant, one of the newest in the European Union, as well as a hazardous waste co-incineration plant and a hazardous waste landfill. It allowed the Moldovan delegation to explore the „waste to energy” practice and the hazardous waste management system. The functioning and practice of the implementation of extended producer responsibility schemes and the treatment of the electronic and electric equipment waste were also on the agenda of the study visit.

The delegation of the Republic of Moldova also met with a team of experts from the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania and exchanged experience on the transposition and implementation of the relevant EU Acquis.

The study visit was organised and funded by the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) in cooperation with the Environmental Project Management Agency of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania.