Vth Baltic NGO Forum – Gdynia Poland 2005

OUTCOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSHOP “Garbage”

 

 

After the historical EU enlargement by 10 new member states on May the 1^st 2004

the Baltic Sea has become an inland sea of the Union and Russia.

It is a unique opportunity to draw broader international attention to the region

and raise additional resources to guarantee sustainable development

in the whole Baltic Sea Region.

 

 

The Vth NGO Baltic Sea Eco workshop was mainly dedicated to household waste management.

 

The participants were representatives from NGOs, business sector, scientists, public authorities and dwellers.

 

The working group suggested:

a)      To improve the Waste Law in Poland and in Russia in the case of the ownership of waste and of issuing proper license by the local government for anybody who wants to take an initiative (sorting, transportation, landfill construction).

b)      The public and NGO should be allowed and have real possibilities to comment the draft license during a certain time period.

 

It is necessary to develop and support the network of environmental information and education centers as a mechanism of application or implementation of the ideas of Aarhus Convention:

1. Access to information and increasing public awareness and outreach;
2. Facilitating cross-sectoral co-operation;
3. Commenting on or initiating new legislation;
4. Enhancing public participation in waste management planning and environmental impact assessment of new projects;
5. Increasing the role of education in all three dimensions of sustainability – ecological, economic and social – in the curricula of schools.

 

The incineration plants are not a sustainable solution because virgin materials must replace what was burnt and because toxic substances end up in the environment again.

 

All recyclable materials/nutrients (including wastewater, not only solid waste) from households should be segregated on spot of generation and recycled as much as possible.

 

In particular, it is necessary to involve Russia more actively to the EU environmental policy (common meetings and agreements).

 

As the next step the Polish Ecological Club is willing to organize an international conference concerning better waste management for the whole Baltic Sea Region. One important topic should be the concept of “zero waste”.

 

We should also like to remind the governmental sector the decisions and recommendations from the past years ecological workshops and hope that these will be discussed again during the VI Baltic Sea NGO Forum.