28 February 2020
February 27, 2020, Minsk hosted a round table “Development of circular economy in Belarus – ways to improve approaches to packaging”.
The closed cycle economy (circular economy, circular economy) is the main component of sustainable development and green economy. Once created, value is retained in the economy for as long as possible. The focus is on all phases of the product life cycle: product design, raw material extraction, production, marketing, waste management and use. The implementation of the circular economy is an important contribution to Sustainable Development Goals 8 (decent work and economic growth), 9 (industrialization, innovation and infrastructure) and 12 (responsible consumption and production).
The Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Belarus, Dmitry Matusevich, highlighted the potential of Belarus in the transition to a green and circular economy, the implementation of which could provide Belarus with 12-15% of GDP growth.
The roundtable participants discussed sustainable approaches to packaging consumer goods in the context of the circular economy. Olga Sazonova, Head of the Main Department for Regulation of Waste Management, Biological and Landscape Diversity of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, presented data on the level of municipal waste utilization in Belarus: it does not exceed 22.8%. There is about 280 000 tons of plastics among municipal waste. Senior Researcher of the Department of Natural Resources Management and Green Economy Development of the State Institution “Research Economic Institute of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus” Alexander Shushkevich explained that Belarus has no quality system of accounting and monitoring produced, imported and exported packaging, while the circular economy needs preliminary research and analysis. So far, it is difficult to assess the volume of use of each type of packaging: it is created by different technologies.
Evgeny Lobanov, head of the Center for Environmental Solutions, presented a report on international practices aimed at preventing plastic packaging waste in retail trade, and gave a number of recommendations to change the situation in the Belarusian retail segment.
Dr. Henning Wilts, Head of Circular Economy at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, drew attention to the importance of strategic vision and holistic approach. For example, products in other packaging can deteriorate more quickly or transport costs and CO2 emissions can increase, while the most important thing in implementing the new system is to reduce the burden on the environment.
Restrictions on disposable plastics are now in place in 127 countries worldwide. The EU countries have adopted a directive according to which the use of certain single-use items will be prohibited from 2021. These include plastic dishes, cotton sticks and sticks for balloons. The production of single-use food containers and cups will be limited, and by 2030 all plastic packaging in the EU market will have to be recyclable. Belarus plans to introduce a deposit system of package. January 1, 2021, a ban on the use and sale of some single-use disposable tableware will come into force.
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