Representatives of RDA South, GIZ and LPAs from Ștefan Vodă and Căuşeni Identify Solutions to Overcome the Challenges of Solid Waste Management

The subject of consultations which have been recently organized by the Regional Development Agency South (RDA South) and the Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Ștefan Vodă was the solution of the waste problem and the need to establish an efficient waste management in Ștefan Vodă and Căușeni districts from the Development Region South.

In order to find solutions, The LPAs of I and II levels and service providers from the mentioned districts, have signalled the challenges they face in the field of the waste management. The GIZ experts and the RDA South specialists have taken into account the expectations and the needs of technical support, which are necessary for the LPAs to overcome the problems in the field of Solid Waste Management (SWM).

Mr Nicolae Molozea, the president of Ștefan Vodă district and of the Regional Development Council South, was glad that Ștefan Vodă District Council is hosting such an event. The problem of waste management is one that is always in the hands of the local public administration. This fact can be deduced from the socio-economic strategy of the district and the Urban Landscaping Plan. The environment field is included as a priority one, the regional scheme of waste organizing, collecting and transporting is aligned to the "risk areas" component.

"The problem of waste disposal and efficient waste management is common today to all local public authorities in the Development Region South. Taking into account the urgency of the matter, we have worked actively with the GIZ and the RDA South to develop a feasibility study in creating the Integrated Waste Management System for the Waste Management Area 3 in the Development Region South, in alliance with the Waste Management Strategy in the Republic of Moldova for 2013-2027. Now, when we are waiting the decision for financing at the central level, I consider it is welcomed that GIZ is still ready to provide technical support for improving inter-community cooperation, temporary storing of the waste and its management, implementing of the methodology for the setting tariffs, recycling waste, informing and raising awareness of the impact on people's health of the waste which is not collected and the impact of non-payment of tariffs, " said Mr Nicolae Molozea.

Mrs Tatiana Aramă, the head of the Department of Strategic Planning and Programming of the RDA South and Mr Denis Parea, the national consultant in local public services, GIZ, have facilitated the discussions between the participants. They have also made a retrospection of the situation in the field of solid waste management in the Development Region South and the actions which are currently undertaken to solve the environmental problems.

The policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment in the field of Solid Waste Management and the LPA's obligations in implementing this policy has been discussed. In this context, the policy documents and the normative framework in this field were mentioned. At the same time, it was specified that, with the aim of implementing environmental policies, solving the problem of waste and providing to the population modern and qualitative sanitation services, a regional sectorial committee in the field of Solid Waste Management was created at the level of the region, with the support of GIZ.

Mrs Tamara Guvir, GIZ expert in solid waste management, have made a comprehensive presentation, containing relevant and exhaustive data on the current state in the field of waste management in Ştefan Vodă and Căuşeni districts, as well as the steps to be taken to overcome the difficulties.

Among the most urgent problems in the waste field mentioned by Mrs Tamara Guvir are the insufficient storage space, lack of temporary deposits, lack of finance, poor inter-municipal cooperation and insufficient coverage of services, as well as unsatisfactory informing of the population about the non-payment of waste tariffs and the impact on people's health of the waste which is not collected.

Based on the identified problems, the GIZ expert has also made some recommendations regarding the improvement of the state of the things in the field of Solid Waste Management. One of the optimal solutions at the moment, in her opinion, is the association of the LPAs from Ştefan Vodă and Căuşeni districts for the purpose of jointly managing the temporary deposits. According to the experts, this would make possible to reduce the existing landfill area in Ştefan Vodă and Căuşeni districts, including the disastrous ones, and to set up special deposit according to sanitary and epidemiological normative. At the same time, it will normally and inevitably lead to the regionalization of sanitation services and to efficient management of solid waste in localities from the nominated districts.

To create temporary deposits, the LPAs will design project sketches and seek for funding. The GIZ has shown its readiness to provide technical support through the Regional Sectoral Committee in the field of SWM for: designing project documentation, increasing operator capacity, organizing training on the topic of introducing local tax or tariffs for waste management, adopting measures to raise awareness of the population, etc.

In this context, the mayors of several localities from Ștefan Vodă and Căuşeni districts, who were present at the meeting, have identified the priority areas of assistance that, in their opinion, would be welcomed in the difficult waste management process.