According to the UN environment programme, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute. This harms not only the marine ecosystem, but also humans through microplastics in the food chain.

On 10-11 April, the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) instrument and the Municipality of Budva organised a workshop on plastic waste management for all municipalities on the Montenegrin coast. Representatives of central institutions and the NGO sector also joined the event to exchange ideas with EU experts from Slovenia and Belgium.

Participants agreed that more incentives for recycling should be introduced to counter the problem in the Adriatic. They also exchanged ideas on how to motivate citizens to reduce the use of disposable plastic.

Christof Delatter, Head of the Strategy and Policy Department at the Flanders Waste Management Agency, demonstrated how Belgium achieved a reduction in household waste production through a mix of legislative incentives and communication campaigns. Štefan Trdan from the Water Institute of Slovenia explained the importance of collecting data related to waste management and showed how municipalities can make use of it in communication actions oriented towards lasting and sustainable results.

The event in Budva launched the second phase of the TAIEX initiative offering strategic support to local authorities in the Western Balkans and working directly with both local and regional authorities to share best EU public policy practices. More local workshops and expert missions, also on environmental topics, will be taking place soon.