Waste Expo 2020 Held in Georgia with Support of USAID/CENN WMTR II Program

On February 27, for the second time in Georgia, USAID / CENN Waste Management Program, in cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and Waste Management Association (WMA), held the Waste Expo 2020.

The exhibition, which featured 14 waste recycling and collection companies in Georgia, was opened by the President of the American Chamber of Commerce, Michael Cowgill.

Welcoming speeches were made by Solomon Pavliashvili, Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Nana Janashia, Executive Director of CENN, and Giorgi Guliashvili, President of the Waste Management Association. The event was moderated by George Walton, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce.

Over 60 US Chamber of Commerce member companies and embassies operating in Georgia attended the exhibition.

Government officials who attended the exhibition pointed out that Georgia has recently started active development of the waste management sector, however, the country has achieved significant progress in this field with the support of projects and organizations such as the USAID-supported Waste Management Program, which has been implemented for more than four years by CENN.

In addition, they emphasized the importance of the waste management sector for the Georgian economy.

“The performance of such companies in the Georgian economy is the basis for the development of a circular economy. This is exactly the model that should be a priority in the development of our country," said Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. 

The following companies were exhibited at the expo:

·        Zugo LLC. the only polyethylene bag recycling company in the Caucasus region, which also produces biodegradable bags

·        Clean World LLC. paper, glass, plastic and aluminum waste collecting company

·        Kriala LLC. Paper waste collection and recycling company

·        Kere LLC. Glass collecting and recycling company

·        TRC LLC. scrap tire recycling company that produces raw rubber granules, which is used for the infrastructure of sports stadiums

·        Eco Geopet LLC. Collects and recycles plastic PET bottles

·        Social enterprise Green Gift collects paper waste and produces various stationery items

·        Geo Mulch LLC recycles waste generated from sanitation cuttings and produces organic Mulch, which is used for agriculture as well as the city’s landscape architecture

·        Sanitary LLC manages hazardous waste in compliance with euro standards

·        Biodiesel Georgia LLC collects and recycles food oil waste and produces biodiesel

·        Polyvim LLC, is in the process of building bottle waste processing factory

·        Oilio LLC collects food oil waste which then goes on export

·        Enviroserve Georgia LLC collects and exports electronic waste

·        Neoprint LLC collects and recycles paper waste.

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.