The National Waste Management Strategy and Plan, their implementation on the regional level as well as the framework waste law are the pillars of the waste management reform in Ukraine. On 24 April, the meeting of the Coordination Council for the Implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy in Ukraine until 2030 took place. The meeting had been organized with the support and participation of the Swiss-Ukrainian project “DESPRO - Support for Decentralisation in Ukraine”.

During the meeting, Ostap Semerak, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, noted that this reform can not be implemented without local self-government authorities, especially in the context of decentralisation. According to the minister, this is one of the priorities suggested by the Government headed by Volodymyr Groysman. Therefore, it is important for all stakeholders involved in waste management today to concentrate on work over regional plans.

According to the National Waste Management Strategy, each oblast should develop its own regional plan and agree with the National Waste Management Plan. This will require both the financial and expert resources of the OSA.

Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, recommended regions to engage local regional development agencies in making such plans. The latter can help with the attraction of investments to implement a regional waste management plan. Another example of receiving funding provided by the Vice Prime Minister is government subventions, “The state support in the sum of UAH 2.1 billion has been directed to hromadas this year. The oblasts with more number of amalgamated hromadas have received more subventions. Where there is a reform - there one can find the government support and investments.”

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