CONCEPT  NOTE

The Regional Conference on Urban Waste Management in the Mediterranean: Strengthening Capacities in Consensus-building and Reaching Sustainable Solutions will take place in Athens, Greece, on 17 and 18 December. It is co-organised by MIO-ECSDE, the University of Athens, and the Association of Communities and Municipalities of the Attica region with the support of UNEP/MAP, the European Commission DG ENV and the Hellenic Ministry of Public Administration and Decentralization (through the Municipality of Zographos). Furthermore, it should be considered as a contribution to the Horizon 2020 capacity building activities.

The collection, treatment and/or disposal of solid municipal waste is a major problem throughout the Mediterranean region. From total absence of waste collection systems to dysfunctional ones, from non-existent recycling schemes to heaps of recyclable materials laying unprocessed at waste processing plants, from uncontrolled dump sites to rejection of modern sanitary landfills or waste treatment facilities from local communities, and the list goes on ….

Addressing urban waste problems has been recognized as a first priority both within the Barcelona Convention framework (the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD), the GEF Tansboundary Diagnostic Analysis and the selection of Hot Spots and the MED/POL National Action Plans to address pollution from land-based activities) and the various schemes initiated within the Euro Mediterranean Partnership and now the Union for the Mediterranean (i.e. urban waste is one of the three priority areas of the EuroMediterranean Horizon 2020 Initiative to De-pollute the Mediterranean by the year 2020).

There is a common understanding that solid waste management is definitely not just a technical challenge. It is also a “knowledge” and cultural issue. For waste related problems there is no single “package solution”, frequently not even within the same country. Knowing and understanding specific environmental and health impacts, financial and economic parameters, social and cultural issues alongside institutional, political and legal frameworks is crucial for planning and operating sustainable urban waste management schemes. A crucial element to achieve success is having all stakeholders, including the general public, involved at all stages of the development of the waste projects. This will enhance consensus building, ownership and smoother implementation and operation. 

The aim of the Conference is to address the issue particularly as it concerns the public and the local authorities focusing on three aspects: the technological, the participatory/institutional and the financial/operational. Local authorities and other stakeholders need to be capacitated in order to effectively and constructively participate in all phases of urban waste management schemes: from discussing criteria on the selection of landfill sites, collection schemes and appropriate technologies, to making choices about products, incentives and procedures as well as in participating actively in social “contracts” and “codes of conduct”, etc.

The Conference will provide a platform for the various stakeholders to discuss good practices, state of the art techniques as well as their experiences and views on what is needed for their preparation in dealing effectively with the urban waste issue.

The meeting will address three key questions:

1.      What is necessary for a successful urban waste management scheme?

e.g. data and information available, cost effective and applicable technology, consultation mechanism, public understanding, incentives, financial sustainability, compensation and offsets, guarantees

2.      What can the various stakeholders provide? Are there prerequisites and conditions?

3.      What are the capacity building needs in order to achieve 1 and 2 in the Mediterranean reality?

e.g. for the local authorities, the private sector, NGOs, platforms, etc.

The five-step hierarchy of waste management options[1]

and influencing factors

Regional Conference on Urban Waste Management in the Mediterranean:

17-18 December 2008

The aim of the Conference is: to address the question of what the appropriate participatory methods are that should be used so as to achieve the maximum consensus that will minimize the problems that arise in all phases of urban waste management schemes: from landfill site selection, collection schemes, appropriate technologies and industrial applications, marketing products, to developing and honoring socio-economic contracts with local communities bearing the brunt of landfilling or waste processing plants.

The following matrix can be used to facilitate the conference presentations and discussions in working towards achieving the aim of the Conference: