First Ever Waste Expo Held in Georgia with the Support of the USAID/CENN WMTR II Program

On December 13, with the support of USAID/CENN WMTR II program, Sector 3 and the Prodemos Foundation, the first ever Waste Expo was held in Georgia at the Expo Georgia exhibition space. The members of the Georgian Waste Management Association (GWMA) and the work of these companies, the main players in the recycling sector, were presented. Attendees had the opportunity to find out detailed information about recycling technologies in Georgia, production lines of the companies and collection services across the country.

The event was opened with welcoming remarks of representatives from the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall, CENN’s Executive Director, Nana Janashia, and the President of the Georgian Waste Management Association, Giorgi Guliashvili.

The following companies participated in the exhibition:

• Ltd. ‘Zugo’, the only plastic bags processing company in the Caucasus, which also produces biodegradable bags;

• Ltd. ‘Clean World,’ a company collecting plastic, glass, paper and aluminum waste separately;

• Ltd. ‘Kriala,’ a paper waste collector and processing company that produces hygienic paper with recycled paper;

• Ltd. ‘Kere,’ a glass waste collector and processing company;

• Ltd. ‘TRC,’ a tire recycling company that produces rubber granules that are used to build playground infrastructure;

•Ltd. ‘Eco Geo Pet,’ which collects and recycles plastic bottles;

• Social enterprise ‘Green Gift,’ which collects paper waste and produces various stationery with recycled paper;

• Ltd. ‘Geo Mulch,’ which produces organic mulch by recycling green waste, used both in agriculture and in the city's landscape architecture;

• Ltd. ‘Sanitary,’ which manages hazardous waste in accordance with Euro standards;

• Ltd. ‘Biodiesel Georgia,’ which collects and processes oil waste from food, using it to make biodiesel;

• Ltd. ‘Polyvim,’ which is currently in the process of constructing a used plastic bottle processing plant;

• Ltd. ‘Oilillo’, which collects and exports cooking oil;

• Ltd. ‘EnviroServe Georgia,’ which collects and exports electronic waste;

• Ltd. ‘Caucaspack,’ which produces recycled plastic raw materials;

• Ltd. ‘Neoprint,’ which collects and processes paper waste.

GEORGIA TODAY interviewed the Executive Director of CENN and the President of the Georgian Waste Management Association to find out the main reasons for such an exhibition in Georgia and its importance and role in terms of the Georgian waste management system and environmental protection.

“The Waste Management program, supported by USAID, is implemented by CENN,” Nana Janashia told us. “The purpose of the program is to support the modernization of the waste management sector. One of the key objectives of the program is to support the private recycling sector. It is very important for the program to support companies working in the waste recycling sector. The Waste Expo 2019 was a good tool for raising public awareness about the Georgian waste recycling sector.

“The main purpose of the exhibition was to show the public that a waste management sector exists in the country and that there are companies that separately collect and recycle different types of waste (paper / cardboard, plastics, glass, aluminum, tires, oils, sanitary and electronic waste),” she said.

“With this purpose, the companies presented their products to the attendees, showing intermediate and final waste processing products and giving them the chance to discover the main players of the waste recycling sector and the processing technologies available in the country.”

Nana Janashia noted that the Waste Expo 2019 was also a good opportunity to meet and talk directly with the representatives of the waste management sector. “Due to the format of the exhibition, we wanted to devote more time to direct communication with companies than to formal presentations. The representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and the Tbilisi City Hall welcomed the audience at the event. I also had the opportunity to welcome guests on behalf of CENN and the USAID Waste Management Program. Giorgi Guliashvili, President of the Association, addressed the audience on behalf of the Waste Management Association and provided brief information about the Association and its 26 member companies, who collect and recycle different types of waste.”

Nana Janashia stated that the Waste Management Association is a good platform for lobbying the interests of companies operating in the waste management sector as it acts as a facilitator between the sector and various stakeholders, including state agencies. “As for organizing such an exhibition in the coming years, we are definitely planning on giving Waste Expo a regular format,” Mrs. Janashia says. “We believe that it will be interesting if this event occurs regularly, as we will have the opportunity to see how the waste management sector is developing in Georgia and, most importantly, this will be motivation for the companies to progress. On behalf of CENN and the USAID / CENN WMTR program, I can say that we will continue to work to strengthen the Association and its members, as this sector really needs both technical and financial support.”

“The exhibition was held successfully, and I would like to thank our friends and partners – USAID / CENN Waste Management Program, Sector 3 and the Prodemos Foundation,” Giorgi Guliashvili told GEORGIA TODAY. “The aim of the Waste Expo 2019 was to present the activities of its members, waste recycling companies, to the wider public. Paper, plastic, glass, tires, used cooking oils, hazardous, electronic and wood waste collecting and processing companies were presented at the exhibition. They featured videos showing their activities, the visual side of recycling processes, and intermediate and final products obtained through recycling different types of waste, as well as the services they are offering to customers. This kind of exhibition was held for the first time in Georgia and we think an interesting and important tradition has been founded. We hope that more companies will be showcased at future exhibitions and that the capacity of the processing sector will be increased and diversified.”

Mr. Guliashvili went on to point out that a number of new waste management regulations will come into force and the role of the processing sector has becoming more and more important in light of these planned regulations. He noted, though, that “awareness is still low.” The Waste Expo served to raise awareness of the Georgian Waste Management Association and companies operating in the sector.

“As for future plans, the Waste Management Association of Georgia will continue its active work in promoting processing companies, increasing their capacity and awareness,” he told us. “We intend to actively engage in collaboration with all stakeholders - central and local government, NGOs, international organizations and the private sector. The Association intends to increase its membership and seek to strengthen the processing sector by lobbying the interests of companies operating in the sector. The Association will continue to be actively involved in the process of drafting and reviewing legislation and regulations on waste management.”

The Georgian Waste Management Association was founded with the support of the USAID/CENN Waste Management Technologies in Regions (WMTR) Program in 2015. The mission of the Georgian Waste Management Association is to develop the waste management sector and support the introduction of modern principles of waste management in the country, which will facilitate the sustainable economic development of the country and contribute to the creation of a safe and healthy environment.