THE PROJECT FOR THE SUPPORT OF WASTE MINIMIZATION

AND 3R PROMOTION IN REPUBLIC OF Newsletter No.4 Februrary 2017

The Project for the Support of Waste Minimization be adopted by Ministry of Environment. This issue and 3R Promotion in Republic of Albania (“the summarizes the findings from the PPs, and also Project”) completed implementation of their pilot reports about the 3R Action Plan workshops and projects (PPs) in three municipalities namely Vau i follow-up visits conducted targeting 40 municipalities Dejes, Cerrik and Municipalities. Based on the in 7 counties from October until December 2016. findings learnt through these pilot projects, the Project is now in the process of finalization of 3R Guideline to

Pilot Project in Cerrik Municipality: may better be served with a communal container Successful implementation of Door-to-door system. This pilot project suggests a municipality to collection for smooth transition to separate seek for an effective combination of door-to-door collection of recyclables collection and communal container collection according to the conditions of each neighborhood. Cerrik Municipality in cooperation with the Project has implemented two pilot projects: 1) Improvement In Pilot Project 2, separate collection of recyclables of municipal waste discharge and collection in the was introduced in the urban area as well as in the rural area, and 2) Separate collection of recyclables. rural area where the door-to-door collection had started in Pilot Project 2. The collection was Pilot Project 1 started with a commemorative conducted in the door-to-door system with another demolishment of concrete-made discharge points kind of melody being played. However, in the urban and shifted to door-to-door collection with a truck setting where apartment buildings are dominant and coming on schedule playing a symbolic melody of the residents have easy access to communal Moi bubrrec. containers installed on nearby street, this system was not found preferable. On the other hand, in the area targeted in Pilot Project 1 where the residents became accustomed to discharge on scheduled timing, discharging the recyclables separately in the door-to-door system was easily accepted.

Despite of the cooperation in the rural area and from a few households even in the urban area, however, the collected amount of recyclables over a period of eight months was very limited (263.5 kg in total, and 1.09 kg/day in average), due to the very limited generation amount of such “waste” in this municipality. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the money earned by selling of the collected recyclables are utilized by the municipality for purchasing new containers.

In conclusion, unless it is very strategically incorporated with the general municipal waste collection, a separate collection of recyclables by door-to-door method would not be cost-effective. Moreover, the door-to-door method for collection of recyclables would work better when introduced after the residents are accustomed to such system for the general waste collection. Pilot Projects in Vau i Dejes Municipality: Necessity for promoting on-site compost of green waste highlighted A majority of residents living along narrow streets In Vau i Dejes, the pilot project was implemented in where communal containers could not be placed and order in three phases: 1) to secure an appropriate a large compactor could not access appreciate this waste collection service by the municipality; 2) to new system and are very cooperative. However, for establish an appropriate waste discharging system the households living on wider, accessible streets that citizen would accept; and 3) to establish an

1 appropriate method for waste reduction. their own site, will reduce the amount of green waste to be discharged and to be transported, and will After establishing on-schedule weekly collection require the municipality less running cost. throughout the Bushat administrative unit (AU) area during the phase 1, the municipality and the project In Bushat administrative unit, they have found that team concluded that the massive amount of about 30% of the households currently carry out agricultural waste discharged on ground around the on-site composting, while the municipality finds it containers was largely hindering the efficiency of the difficult financially to implement off-site composting. collection work. Therefore, in the second phase, they Thus, on-site composting is a preferable method for had installed two large containers at the ground level reduction of green waste for a similar municipality. designated specifically for agricultural wastes in two collection points. This has drastically reduced the time required for clearing the collection point from 40 minutes to 5 minutes. Moreover, the environment around the containers also improved largely. The municipality has now installed such large containers in two other collection points expecting for the same impact.

However, not every household has enough space to carry out composing nor has willingness to cooperate. In reality, many were found very reluctant about composting even though they generate green waste. In order to promote on-site compost widely, it will be required to develop some measurements to In Phase 3, methods to reduce the amount of green encourage citizens to conduct on-site composting, waste that are discharged in a large quantity and such as tax reduction or subsidy by a local or central transported to the landfill were sought after. The government. municipality and the Project team had a series of discussions and studied the possibility of Pilot Projects in Tirana Municipality: implementing on-site composting as well as off-site Effectivity of awareness raising through composting. Off-site composting refers to school activity endorsed composting method in which organic waste are collected to one large-scale facility where the waste In Lapraka area of Tirana, five schools continued to is being composted. This method after all will not work on separate collection of recyclables. Each reduce the amount of green waste that need to be school developed their own unique way of transported by the waste collection services, and will continuing: Ahmet Gashi and 28 Nentori schools require additional cost for transportation and expanded separate collection of recyclables to the management of the composting facility. families of the students.

On the other hand, on-site composting, which Aleks Buda High School now has a strong student requires waste generator to carry out composting at group, which works with neighboring cooperative

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café bars. The bars keep the recyclables generated the sustainable recycling activity at school level from their business and hand over to the students of requires a completed circle of flow from separate the group who visit these shops 2 to 3 times a week. collection by students at school through selling to a These three schools sell their collected recyclables recycler. Without having determined how and to to the recycler who is contacted by a monitoring staff whom the recyclables are handed over, separation of of the Project. recyclables cannot be completed. Workshops to support 3R Action Plan formulation by Local Governments The Project team, accompanied by the counterpart specialists from Ministry of Environment, conducted workshops in seven counties including Gjirokaster,

Recyclables brought in by the students of Ahmet Gashi Vlore, , Beret, , Shkoder, and Lezhe, in from their homes and gathered in the sack provided by September and October, in order to enhance the Project. understanding of the process to formulate 3R Action Plan at the local government level. The team Gjergi Fishta school also has some contributions of explained in detail, step by step, each component of recyclables collected from the students homes, and “3R Action Plan” and provided instructions about they have even managed to find their own collector how to complete the collection of basic data which in the school’s proximity, to whose yard the student serves as a foundation for their planning of 3R environmental group delivers the sack filled with the activities. recyclables.

Although the earning from this selling from any of these four schools is very small (in average 57kg/sack to earn 1140 leke or so), the actual experience through which the students can witness “the recyclables are resources” has a large impact on the students awareness as well as on their parents.

Skender Luarasi school, where the amount of recyclables generated is not so big as the others, worked on awareness creating within the school as Participants of the workshop in Fier County exercising a well as in the waste-flow formulation process. community by creating their own awareness materials which summarize their learning about recycling.

Tirana’s experience through implementation of the pilot project suggests that the awareness program requires actual activity involving students to make an impact. Such activity requires an intensive monitoring and support to the schools. Furthermore,

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The workshops were followed up with phone calls day of their mission, the team presented their and e-mail correspondences so that each findings to the Project committee members and participated municipality could have the data filled concluded the evaluation with expectation that the appropriately. The Project further supported the Japanese expert team of the Project and their municipalities by making individual visits and had counterpart officials of Ministry of Environment will one-on-one guidance to complete the analysis of the thoroughly examine together the draft 3R Guideline current financial and physical status of their solid being prepared and the ministry officials will be waste management. Through this process, familiarized with the contents of it so that they would twenty-eight (28) municipalities have become be well-equipped to support local governments in prepared to make reasonable and sensible selection promotion of 3R in Albania. of 3R activities fitted to their own situations. The map above indicates the municipalities which have been visited by the Project and are in process of formulating 3R Action Plans.

The Project will support these municipalities continuously to complete the formulation of 3R Action Plan through close communication and at the final seminar to be organized in early March. Terminal Evaluation of the Project conducted by JICA Head Office From 16th January until 26th January, 2017, the terminal evaluation of the Project was conducted by the evaluation committee consisted of a Japanese consultant assigned for the evaluation by JICA Head The evaluation team poses together with the members Office, an Albanian expert in waste management, as of Joint Coordination Committee and the Project well as two officials from the department of members. Environmental Management Group of JICA Head Office. Final Seminar on 3R Guideline and 3R th th Visiting all three pilot project municipalities, Action Plan to be held on 9 & 10 interviewing the project counters at the municipal March, 2017 and the ministerial level, and examining the The Project as its summarizing activity will organize documents produced so far by the Project, they the Seminar on 3R Guideline and the final workshop concluded that the Project would most likely to th th for formulation of 3R Action Plan on 9 and 10 achieve the Project Purpose by the end of the March, 2017. The draft of 3R Guideline is expected Project implementation period; i.e. May 2017. to be finalized by then in a form of a technical document of Ministry of Environment, and the finalized contents will be introduced to the participants.

The same occasion will be utilized to finalize the draft municipal 3R Action Plans which are being prepared by many municipalities following the instructions provided by the Project. The essential part of selection of 3R activities and formulating their implementation plan will be explained. The participants are expected to complete this process for their 3R Action Plan during the course of the seminar under the guidance of the Project team.

All municipalities will be invited in due course with The evaluation team conducting an interview at a school specific instructions to follow to make the occasion of which cooperated in the pilot project in Tirana the seminar a meaningful ones. Those who have not had opportunities to participated in any of the past The evaluation team highly evaluated the efforts workshops will also receive invitations and are made by the pilot project municipalities producing welcomed to participate with a pre-drafted 3R Action valuable findings for formulation of 3R Guideline. Plan. The form of the Plan will be available from the Project, if any of the participating municipality has At the Joint Coordination Committee held on the final not had one yet.

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