Municipalities are ready for cooperation to strengthen waste management in Ukraine
WM4U, Waste Management for Ukraine is up and running – and the collaboration between Swedish and Ukrainian municipalities is gaining momentum. Four municipal clusters in Ukraine have now been connected with four Swedish counterparts to jointly strengthen waste management in Ukraine. With a focus on environmental sustainability, climate improvement, and increased quality of life, the programme aims to strengthen both local and national efforts in Ukraine.
Municipalities in Ukraine play a crucial role in improving waste management in the country. Therefore, the Sida-funded program WM4U will support four selected municipalities in Ukraine to help them enhance their municipal waste management systems. Swedish municipalities will also be involved and contribute with their experience.
Since the program launched in the fall of 2024, Avfall Sverige and SALAR International have conducted an extensive selection process to identify four areas of municipalities -pilots- in Ukraine (Municipal clusters). Over 80 candidates were reviewed, with the information about communities collected from the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities of Ukraine (AATC). At the same time, efforts to identify four municipal clusters in Sweden have been underway. In March, the final selection of the four clusters in both Sweden and Ukraine was made, and the municipalities that will work together were confirmed.
Change Needed at Both National and Local Levels
WM4U aims to improve Ukraine’s environmental sustainability, align waste management legislation with EU standards, and promote a culture of responsible waste management among citizens. This requires change at both the national and local levels in Ukraine, through strengthened regulations and coordination at the national level, and capacity building at the local level—starting with the four pilot areas mentioned.
Caption: The four municipal clusters in Ukraine will be coordinated by the municipalities of Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Kremenchuk, and Lozova.
The four municipal clusters that the program will work with in Ukraine are coordinated by the municipalities of Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Kremenchuk, and Lozova. These municipalities will in turn form a municipal cluster for intermunicipal cooperation with neighboring municipalities.
In March, the program management met with representatives from the Ukrainian municipalities in Kyiv to sign a memorandum of understanding for the work ahead.
Yurii Tarasenko, Adviser to the Mayor of Kremenchuk, stated:
– Our main expectation from participating in the Programme is to develop and implement innovative waste management methods based on three key components: the role of local self-government, waste processors and service providers, and residents. Without close cooperation between these three parties, success in this project will not be possible. Thanks to the support of our more experienced Swedish colleagues, we will be able to establish well-structured clusters—not limited by geographical boundaries, as boundaries exist only in our minds.
Swedish municipalities have experience and expertise and are both ambassadors for Swedish waste management and catalysts for the work on sustainable waste management in Ukraine. In early March, representatives from each Swedish municipal cluster met in Stockholm with the program leadership to discuss what the cooperation would entail in more detail. “The municipalities are at the core of this program,” said Pontus Förberg, project manager for WM4U.
Exchange Between Municipalities is the Core of WM4U
The exchange between Swedish and Ukrainian municipalities is at the heart of WM4U. In practice, this exchange will include general waste management training, workshops, study trips, planning, and the exchange of expertise and advice. For each municipal cluster, realistic goals, scope, focus areas, future organizational structures, and actions will be tailored to their local conditions and starting points. In addition to providing practical support at the local level, the pilots will also serve as examples to strengthen the link between local and national levels.
The picture shows Pontus Förberg (centre), Volodymyr Pelipenko, Deputy Mayor of Kremenchuk Poltava oblast (left), and Andrik Mols (right), Project Manager of WM4U.
More informations will follow.
Senast uppdaterad - 2025-03-25