Policy instruments
Discover the policy instruments that the partners of this project are tackling.
A means for public intervention. It refers to any policy, strategy, or law developed by public authorities and applied on the ground to improve a specific territorial situation. In most cases, financial resources are associated with a policy instrument. However, an instrument can also sometimes refer to a legislative framework with no specific funding. In the context of Interreg Europe, operational programmes for Investment for Growth and Jobs as well as Cooperation Programmes from European Territorial Cooperation are policy instruments. Beyond EU cohesion policy, local, regional, or national public authorities also develop their own policy instruments.
The general goal of the Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Operational Programme 2021-2027 (POR BI) aims to support sustainable economic development, improve living standards, and increase resilience to societal challenges.
The WEEEWaste project promotes Policy Objective 2: a Greener Europe, focusing on clean energy, green investment, circular economy, climate change adaptation, risk management, and sustainable urban mobility.
Policy Objective 2 aims to protect nature, biodiversity, and green infrastructure, reduce polution, and manage electrical waste, particularly hazardous materials like heavy metals. It also aims to reduce uncontrolled delivery of electrical waste to non-official transformers, reducing environmental impacts.
Partners working on this policy instrument
The targeted policy instrument is the Regional Development Programme of Hajdú-Bihar County, which provides a framework for the county's development scheme for the period 2021-2027.
This is a medium-term plan that describes in detail the development priorities, defines the specific interventions and measures to be implemented within the framework of the priorities and reviews the framework and conditions for implementation.
This policy serves as the underlying regional strategic document for the definition of the national Territorial and Settlement Development Operational Programme (TSDOP) that provides the funding for the implementation of measures defined at regional level by the 19 Hungarian county governments.
The development objectives of Hajdú-Bihar County for the period 2021-2027 includes a specific measure dedicated to waste management – Measure 1.8: Strengthen the transition towards a circular economy, reduce material use.
In line with modern waste management priorities, waste generation should be reduced, waste reuse, recycling, energy recovery and other waste recovery should be significantly increased. It is essential to reduce the disposal of waste in landfills, which are currently the most common.
One of the most important gaps is the lack of any approach, measure or solution dedicated to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment although the strongly increasing volume of such waste needs not only special educative measures but also dedicated management.
Partners working on this policy instrument
The Municipal Environmental Protection Programme is a document that defines environmental problems and goals, and sets priorities for solving them. It is an important part of a city's efforts to keep the environment clean and healthy.
The preparation of this document is a process in which a large number of actors in the field of environmental protection and a large part of the municipal administration are involved.
Going along with the Law of Environmental Protection, the National Protection Programme (NEAP) decides the long-term directions, goals and tasks of protecting the environment for the whole of Slovenia.
The NEAP stands for social agreement about the future protection of the surrounding conditions of the development of Slovenia.
Partners working on this policy instrument
Navarra Waste Plan 2017-2027 sets the guidelines for regional waste management and adopts the objectives on WEEE separate collection and, those of recovery, preparation for reuse and recycling to be met by the managers. Its review is being carried out in 2022.
In the Prevention Plan, there is a specific strategic line on WEEE with a measure “Promote the reuse of products”, and 2 actions:
- Promotion and support for initiatives to repair and reuse bulky waste, books, other objects, WEEE and textiles (exchange points and markets, others).
- Agreements with WEEE Extended Responsibility Systems to promote WEEE prevention initiatives.
In the Management Plan there is a measure to improve the problem of Navarra non-compliance with the collection rate: “Reinforcement of the WEEE collection network”, and 2 actions:
- Adaptation of clean points to the collection of WEEE in accordance with RD 110/2015
- WEEE collection inspection and control campaign in distribution channels
In addition, there is a measure to improve the problem of Navarra in terms of non-compliance with the objectives: Promote the implementation and authorization of new facilities sufficient for the preparation for the reuse of WEEE, and 3 actions:
- Review of authorizations
- Training on preparation for reuse, repair, restoration and remanufacturing
- Adaptation of facilities to RD 110/2015 for waste to surface
The Plan also includes measures and actions for WEEE in its transversal line of Communication.
Partners working on this policy instrument
In Gdańsk, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of September 13, 1996 on maintaining cleanliness and order in municipalities, the municipality is responsible for collecting municipal waste from property owners. Under the municipal strategy, bio-waste and residual waste are collected directly from the property in a five-container system. Collection of other waste, including waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), constitutes additional services guaranteed by municipalities at no extra charge.
The main goal of the City at this stage is education and a clear message that WEEE is a hazardous waste and should not be thrown into containers or placed for collection at a garbage canopy. The waste exposed at the gazebo is dismantled into parts, which is illegal and harmful to the environment (cooling gases, leakage of oils and grease to the soil) and as non-contractual waste, they often remain in public space for a long time, reducing its aesthetic value.
In response to the demands of housing co-operatives and property managers, the City accepts to PSZOK. It is a municipal waste, therefore the city bears the costs of its management. Nevertheless, the cost of cleaning the area and transport to PSZOK remains with the resident.
We strive to increase the awareness of residents and reduce the amount of incorrectly collected waste. Increasing environmental awareness must go hand in hand with the possibility of easy and trouble-free disposal of WEEE.
Partners working on this policy instrument
The Emergency Climate Protection Programme 2030 includes a detailed target and measurement catalogue for the sectors: climate protection in urban development and urban land use planning, municipal buildings and facilities, supply and disposal, mobility, internal organisation, communication and cooperation.
The aim of the programme is to guarantee and shape sustainable growth in the city of Leipzig. The programme is based on an engineering-based energy and climate protection concept, which formulates recommendations for action and shows possible CO2 savings in the long term with active support from the municipality. It is based on our claim of particularly sustainable urban development and was developed in close cooperation with municipal companies, offices, chambers, associations and clubs.
The programme also includes specifically measures that address the handling of e-waste. The aim of this measure is to minimise resource consumption and thus CO2 emissions by valorising and reusing old equipment, while at the same time enabling digital participation for citizens, especially low-income families. Companies, organisations and private individuals regularly renew their IT technology because it is depreciated, no longer visually acceptable or simply damaged. However, these devices can often be repaired or serve as spare parts donors for other devices.
Partners working on this policy instrument
Following an unprecedented crisis due to the pandemic, Czechia’s recovery and resilience plan responds to the urgent need of fostering a strong recovery and making Czechia future ready.
In the area of climate and environmental policies, Czechia faces the challenge of increasing the share of renewable energies in the energy mix, improving the energy efficiency of its building stock and making mobility and the transport sector more sustainable. Nature protection, in particular with respect to biodiversity, forestry and water bodies, also requires more attention.
Main investment axes of the Green Transition axes are:
- Energy efficiency
- Renewable energy sources
- Sustainable mobility.
Additionally, further €141 million will be invested in circular economy, including recycling infrastructure and support for circular economy solutions and water savings in businesses.
The Instrument includes general measures for resource productivity and the share of returned secondary raw materials in total material consumption (circular material use rate), also to strengthen the transition to a circular economy in an economy by using resources more efficiently, preventing waste, efforts will need to be stepped up and investment in business transformation will need to be mobilised.
Until date, no specific priority investment or policy line focuses directly on the management of electronic and electric waste, which is a waste in exponential growth.
Partners working on this policy instrument
The Strategy of the Urban Area of Campobasso of the ROP of Molise ERDF and ESF+ 2021/2027 funds defines the strategic vision in which the local actors recognize themselves and the axes on which the interventions to be implemented are triggered, which are:
• “Innovation and digital connectivity” to respond to the challenge of the digital transition.
• "Green solutions and energy sustainability" capable of facilitating the ecological transition by making choices towards the use of less polluting energy and towards increasing attention to the protection of the territory;
• “Sustainable mobility” with choices the soft and multimodal mobility;
• "Culture and tourism" to rediscover and enhance the heritage of beauties of which the territory of the AU of Campobasso is rich;
• “Welfare and social reception” to give concrete answers to the problems connected with unemployment and social poverty.
In the axe of intervention “Green solutions and energy sustainability” the Strategy of the Urban Area of Campobasso focus on the general improvement of the environment, reduction of pollution and increase of circularity of the regional economy. Inside this axes, several measures address the promotion of renewable energies and the fight against the climate change, also including the reduction of pollution created by fossil fuels and waste.
Even if the Strategy include the general waste management, the specific WEEE management is not specifically mentioned as a priority.