Addressing Solid Waste Management Challenges in Georgia
On November 18, PMC Research Center (PMC RC), under the umbrella of Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, held a presentation and public discussion of research findings and recommendations regarding “Solid Waste Management in Georgia”.
The presentation focused on construction waste, polyethylene bags, municipal dumps, as well as the separation of solid waste collection systems and the involvement of the private sector in this process.
The study showed that the separated system of waste collection is vitally important to modernize. The research put forward a concrete, optimal model for the process of waste separation adhering to best international practices.
Based on the research outcomes and the suggested model, PMC RC issued a number of recommendations covering the importance of public awareness about hazardous residues, introduction of a system for waste separation, arrangement of the proper landfills and the importance of reducing their size.
“Proper management of solid waste is extremely important. If it is not managed, it might damage the environment as well as human health. Georgia has long-term goals addressing this issue, but the achievable goals in the short-term period have hardly been identified and implemented. Therefore, solid waste management remains one of the crucial issues for Georgia”, said Tamar Jugheli, research director at PMC RC who added that the process should start at the organizational level.
The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, Cleaning Municipal Department, international organizations and from non-governmental organizations like Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN), Coop Georgia, The Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Georgia), ISET Policy Institute and Economic Policy Research Center.
The research was conducted within the framework of the project “Policy Research for Sustainable Economic Growth” by PMC RC, with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.