The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the National Waste Management Plan, which will become the basis for creating an effective waste management system in the country. This document determines key goals and measures necessary for Ukraine’s integration into European Union standards within the framework of environmental policy reform. The approval of the National Plan was recommended by the European Commission in the 2023 Progress Report of Ukraine.
The national plan is based on an analysis of the current state of the waste management system in Ukraine, includes forecast indicators and strategic goals for the next ten years. The document covers various aspects of the reform, in particular, reducing the landfill of bio-waste, preventing the formation of new waste and increasing the volume of its reuse and recycling. One of the key goals is to provide household waste management services to at least 85% of the country’s population by 2033. Special attention is paid to the introduction of separate garbage collection, which will cover more and more settlements every year, and to the creation of sorting lines at landfills for separating organic waste.
The document also provides for the inventory of facilities dealing with the processing of hazardous waste, with their subsequent bringing them into line with current legal requirements or closing them down if they do not meet environmental standards. The plan aims to increase the proportion of non-hazardous recycled materials to at least 70% by 2033.
Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svitlana Grynchuk noted that during the next year, each region of Ukraine should develop a regional waste management plan based on the National Plan. Such plans will be calculated for decades and will include the creation of modern infrastructure for processing waste and the closure of facilities that pose an environmental threat. At the same time, communities will have to develop local waste management programs aimed at realizing common goals in the regions.
The approval of the National Plan is an important step on the way to reforming the waste management system, which will contribute to environmental protection, effective use of resources, and improvement of the quality of life of Ukrainian citizens.
