conference

Kiel 2019: A milestone for Zero Waste cities in Germany

The International conference “Kiel 2019: A milestone for Zero Waste Cities” presented the vision and the implementation of the Zero Waste strategies, through the most innovative and successful experiences at both the European and national level. It covered overall Zero Waste strategies and waste prevention with families as well as decentralised composting, PAYT (Pay As You Throw) and reuse systems at the municipal level. The conference aims to provide a European overview of some exemplary initiatives across Europe and help regions and cities in their transition towards Zero Waste.

On Friday March 29^th in Kiel, our last Zero Waste Cities conference, co-organised by Zero Waste Kiel e.V., brought together no less than 226 registrants: representatives of NGOs, innovative businesses and public authorities, as well as University students and private citizens from across Europe, gathered to learn more about the municipalities’ journey towards Zero Waste. This has indeed recently become a hot topic in the country: last November, thanks to the support of Zero Waste Kiel e.V., Kiel was the first German municipality to officially commit to Zero Waste.

In total, 21 speakers from all across Europe showcased encouraging best practices and the numerous Q&As gave the audience the opportunity to exchange ideas, compare experiences and find inspirations. In the words of Zero Waste Europe Network and Development Coordinator in charge of the Cities programme Esra Tat:

“Such conferences are instrumental in bringing together local change agents and foster cross-pollination of best practices. The need for further support and training is one of our priorities. I very much invite all interested players, local authorities, social entrepreneurs and civil society, to join us for our future events and Study Tours. We need everyone on board to turn Zero Waste into reality!”

ORGANISERS

Zero Waste Europe

Zero Waste Europe was created to empower communities to rethink their relationship with resources. In a growing number of regions, local groups of individuals, businesses and city officials have taken significant steps towards eliminating waste in our society. Zero Waste Europe engages these groups at two levels: supporting local groups with independent knowledge and streamlined tools to drive change more efficiently, structuring the movement internationally to better represent the interests of our communities at the EU level and engage policymakers with a unified voice. We are both a knowledge network and an advocacy group, representing active communities in countries across the EU. We want to redesign our society so that all superfluous waste is eliminated and everything that is produced can be reused, repaired, composted or recycled back into the system. Anything that can’t be repaired, composted or recycled should be re-designed and replaced or banned from entering the market.

Zero Waste Kiel e.V.

Created in 2016, the association “Zero waste Kiel e.V.” is dedicated to reducing and avoiding unnecessary packaging and waste in the private (Zero Waste Lifestyle), commercial (Zero Waste in Business) and public (Zero Waste in Cities) areas. We collect technical, scientific and organizational solutions that serve this goal and report on it. Another focus of our work are public relations and events on waste prevention. Zero Waste does not mean having to give up everything. It is rather a gain in knowledge about appreciation, recycling and circular economy of the resources of our earth. We believe that thoughtful consumption creates the basic prerequisite for a sustainable world and resource conservation. With our 30 active members, we network with other associations, institutions or non-profit organisations in Schleswig-Holstein that are promoting projects on waste prevention or environmental issues.

SUPPORTERS

This project was financed with support from the Environmental Protection Fund of the city of Kiel.

Programme

March 29, 2019

09:00 - 10:15

Welcome & Opening

Introduction

Esra Tat, Network & Development Coordinator

Network & Development Coordinator, Zero Waste Europe

Esra joined Zero Waste Europe in April 2017. She leads on the strategic development of the Zero Waste Europe network and coordinates the Zero Waste Cities programme. Previously, with a background on project management and environment, Esra co-directed a social enterprise promoting energy efficiency and co-housing programs in France. She spent 6 years as a development coordinator in this field, working with policy makers and the general public. Over the last 3 years, she’s worked as a sustainability project manager and a facilitator, mostly with international networks. She has developed an expertise on network development, with a specific approach of open governance and collective intelligence. Esra holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Management.

Welcome remarks

Marie Delaperrière

Founders, Zero Waste Kiel e.V.

Marie Delaperrière, originally from France, founded „Unverpackt“, the first disposable packaging free grocery shop of Germany in 2014. Since then, she regularly organizes seminars to promulgate the concept on the territory and abroad. With a background and 15 years professional experience in project management and logistics, Marie acts as a consultant and coach for future shop founders and zero waste projects. Since 2016, she is the chairwoman of the organization Zero Waste Kiel e.V. which she co-founded. She supports the municipality of Kiel on its way to a Zero Waste City.

Welcome remarks

Marc Delaperrière

Founders, Zero Waste Kiel e.V.

Marc Delaperrière, with French origins, is medical physicist at the Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital (UKSH). Convinced by the ecological and also social positive impact of the Zero Waste movement, he devotes a substantial part of his free time to work on Zero Waste projects and to promote the Zero Waste pragmatic vision. He co-founded Zero Waste Kiel e.V. and is board member of the non profit organization. He currently works at the development of the Zero Waste network in Germany.

Background of the city of Kiel and its journey towards Zero Waste

Dr. Ulf Kämpfer,

Lord Mayor, City of Kiel

After his Philosophy and Law studies, Ulf evolved in different Schleswig-Holstein Ministries, and spent several years working in the Environment and Agriculture field. These experiences strengthened his involvement in these important topics. He is since 2014 the Lord Mayor of the city of Kiel.

10:15 - 11:30

KEYNOTE

The state of Zero Waste in Europe and at the global level: turning utopia into reality

Joan Marc Simon

Executive Director, Zero Waste Europe

Joan Marc is based in Brussels where he coordinates the work of Zero Waste Europe. He has been a leading voice for Zero Waste in Europe since 2007, dramatically increasing the visibility and policy impact of Zero Waste efforts in this time. He is a regular keynote speaker in many industry and NGO meetings in Brussels but also at local level as well as internationally. In 2015 he has authored the Zero Waste Case Study “The Story of Contarina” and “The Story of Guipuzkoa” as well as the book “Zero Waste – How to reactivate the economy without trashing the planet”. With training in Economics and Development Cooperation, he has more than 10 years of experience working with governmental and non-governmental organisations in the field of good governance, new economics, social justice, and environment.

10:30 - 11:45

IMPLEMENTING ZERO WASTE STRATEGIES: THE MUNICIPALITIES JOURNEY TO ZERO WASTE

Moderator

Esra Tat

Network & Development Coordinator, Zero Waste Europe

How to design and implement a Zero Waste programme: Key learnings and achievements from across Europe

Enzo Favoino

Chair of Scientific Committee, Zero Waste Europe

Enzo Favoino, Chair of the Scientific Committee, is a technical expert and researcher in the Scuola Agraria del Parco di Monza, with decades of experience in separate collection, recycling, composting and prevention. Favoino is also an expert in EU waste legislation and a valuable resource in European policy-making. He is one of the founders of the European Compost Network and coordinator of the Scientific Committee of the Zero Waste Research Centre in Italy.

Recorded: San Francisco: On the road to Zero Waste

Alexa Kielty

Zero Waste Specialist, SF Environment, City and County of San Francisco

Alexa Kielty has been working for San Francisco’s Department of the Environment’s Zero Waste Program since 2001 and has had the opportunity to help develop San Francisco zero waste policies and programs from the ground up. She has played an integral role in working with the residential sector, particularly multi-family buildings, working to get them into compliance with San Francisco’s Mandatory Composting and Recycling Ordinance. With the help of her enthusiastic team she has developed a “hands on” on approach to changing the behavior of apartment residents getting them to separate their food scraps for the City’s composting program. She is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies program with a focus on Agro-Ecology and loves being outdoors especially in the Pacific Ocean whenever possible.

Kerbside collection, PAYT, Zero Waste Families: 3 key steps in the Capannori (Italy) Zero Waste programme implementation

Rossano Ercolini

President, Zero Waste Italy

Rossano is a primary school teacher, and passionate Zero Waste leader. He has more than 20 years experience in the waste field and is a leading name of the zero waste movement in Italy. As a result of his efforts his home-town Capannori was the first European city to declare the goal of zero waste by 2020. He has helped the Zero Waste movement grow beyond the Italian borders into what is now the Zero Waste Europe movement. In 2013 Rossano was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, considered the “Green Nobel PrizePol” for his contributions to the Zero Waste movement in Italy.

How to make the world a better place for all?

Jože Gregorič

Project manager, Waste collection specialist, Snaga

Jože Gregorič is a Project Manager and waste collection specialist at Snaga Ljubljana, with proficiency in dealing with different stakeholders, sound experience of maintaining effective internal people management and excellent coordination skills. At Snaga Mr. Gregorič is responsible for several projects. He is a project leader of installation of underground collection system in the city centre of Ljubljana, with which Snaga replaces ordinary containers with underground collection points, thus rationalising waste management and improving the appearance of the city. It has proved to be extremely successful as we’re presenting it to other cities as an example of good practice.

11:45 - 12:10

COFFEE BREAK

12:10 - 13:10

ZERO WASTE STRATEGY FUNDAMENTALS: IT ALWAYS STARTS WITH ORGANIC WASTE

Moderator

Csilla Urbán

President, Humusz Waste Prevention Alliance

Csilla Urbán joined Humusz WPA as an intern in September 2014 and since then she has become Zero Waste programme manager and president, as well. During her university studies she had already started working on awareness raising campaigns about conscious consumption and waste reduction at student-based NGOs. She has a BSc in environmental sciences and MSc in human ecology.

The importance of organic waste management to implement a Zero Waste programme - a comprehensive strategy

Enzo Favoino

Chair of the Scientific Committee, Zero Waste Europe

Decentralised and local composting models as an alternative to bio-waste management: from small communities to the Revitaliza Plan for the province of Pontevedra (Spain)

Ramón Plana

Consultant in Biological Treatments for Organic Wastes

He works as an independent consultant in waste management, specializing in the biological treatment of organic waste. He has more than 22 years of experience in the sector and since september 2007 works as an independent international consultant carrying out consultancy projects for companies, administrations and public entities, design and implementation of treatment facilities of very different scales, training of personnel, as well as giving courses and conferences and participating as a professor in several masters of universities. His professional activity includes different countries in Europe, America, Africa and Middle East. Within his professional career, he has worked in research projects, management and/or treatment of a wide variety of organic wastes (urban, agricultural, livestock and industrial), among which are: sludge from the agri-food industry, manure and slurries, agricultural residues, bio-waste, sewage sludges, … He realized his doctoral thesis about the design of composting sites and development of efficient work protocols in industrial facilities for aerobic treatment of different organic wastes. He has several patents for the treatment of organic wastes through aerobic and anaerobic biological processes and systems. He is on of the founder members of the professional association on waste management Fertile Auro.

Tackling bio-waste through decentralised composting: the case of Besancon (France)

Pierre Condamine

Waste Policy Officer, Zero Waste Europe

With an educational background in political science and a Master in Sustainable Development, Pierre decided to dedicate his professional life to protect the environment. As he grew up near the Atlantic coast he has a special connection to nature and thus will seize every opportunity to support the ecological transition. He is then determined to make change towards a Zero Waste society happen at the European level, along with promoting citizen’s empowerment at a local level.

13:10 - 14:25

LUNCH BREAK

14:25 - 15:40

WASTE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION CALL FOR ECONOMIC INCENTIVES

Moderator

Ana Gutierrez Dewar

Policy Officer, Retorna

Ana Gutiérrez Dewar has developed her professional career in the field of waste prevention, resource management and environmental communication. After three years studying Physics at the Complutense University of Madrid, she moved on to live on a sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay, USA, and work with US PIRG on the approval and upgrade of environmental laws in Washington D.C. She later graduated in Tourism Management and has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Strategies and Management. Ana has worked as a consultant and has directed environmental publications such as Recovery and Recycling, Intec Urbe and Warmer Bulletin.

When is PAYT needed? Comparison of approaches and results across Europe, and the new concept of Know-As-You-Throw

Michele Giavini

ARS Ambiente srl & Waste4Think H2020 project

Michele runs his own consultancy, ARS ambiente, focusing on source separation of biowaste since 2001. Expert in waste data processing and visualization, he supports the Italian Composting Association and is involved in many international projects on innovation in waste management and citizen sensitisation, including Pay As You Throw.

The singular use of environmental taxation for the achievement of municipal waste prevention and recycling targets in Catalonia. 15 years of experience (2004-2019)

Francesc Giró i Fontanals

Director of Strategic Planning, Waste Agency of Catalonia, Territories and Sustainability Department

Francesc Giró i Fontanals, graduated in Agricultural Engineering, is currently the Director of Strategic Planning of the Waste Agency of Catalonia; all his professional career has been developed, as a technical expert and researcher in separate collection of biowaste and on biological treatment, between ESAB- Polytechnic University of Catalonia, as a researcher and teacher (1987-1993), and the Waste Agency of Catalonia, as a technician (1993-2011), deputy director (2011-2016) and Director of Strategic Planning (2016 up to now). He is also founder and member of the European Compost Network. Along more than 30 years, he has been working with high commitment to develop and promote the implementation of the biowaste separate collection and recycling. Last years he has coordinated the elaboration of the “Waste & Resources Prevention and Management Programme PRECAT20”.

Make Mehrweg great again!

Theodor Flammer

Director, Recircle

Theodor is a 26-year-old sustainability evangelist. He grew up in a small town in southern Germany. As a child, his family still did a little farming in their free time and they grew their own apples, potatoes and of course his family had a few vineyards. So he learned how unstable natural processes are and how humans affect the nature. On the other hand he knew many people who didn’t seem to care or to feel responsible at all. During the last phase of his studies he met someone who wanted to create a system of reusable takeaway food-boxes to reduce the waste amount within cities. From the beginning he fell in love with this project and together, they founded their start-up last December, to create this system and enable people to save waste, every time they use takeaway food.

Financial measures to support the implementation of reusable coffee-to-go systems

Elena Schägg

Project Manager Circular Economy, Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.

Elena Schägg has been working for the environmental and consumer protection organisation Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. since February 2018. As part of the circular economy team, she is primarily committed to strengthening reusable systems in Germany. The increasing amounts of packaging are a dramatic development for her. It is even more dramatic that, in her view, too little is being done by politicians to promote sustainable packaging systems. She has a background in resource management.

15:40 - 16:05

COFFEE BREAK

16:05 - 17:20

CLIMBING THE ZERO WASTE HIERARCHY: RETHINK, REDESIGN, REDUCE AND REUSE

Moderator

Marc Sautelet

Project Manager, Zero Waste Belgium

Marc Sautelet is a project manager for Zero Waste Belgium. This NGO offers simple and accessible solutions to everyone in order to reduce the amount of waste as our environmental footprint. In 2016 he challenged himself to not produce any waste for an entire year, and never stopped after that. With a background in journalism he is using his communication skills to raise awareness on the zero waste lifestyle.

Zero Waste: are we getting closer? Indicators and benchmarks for waste prevention

Dr. Henning Wilts

Director Circular Economy, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy

Henning Wilts is the Director Division Circular Economy at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. He owns a Master degree in economics, a PhD in waste infrastructure planning, and he is a lecturer for resource economics at the Schumpeter School of Economics in Wuppertal. He coordinates several research projects on transition processes towards a circular economy, waste prevention and sustainable waste management, inter alia for the European Commission, the European Environment Agency and the OECD.

How cities can benefit from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to incentivise plastic-free initiatives

Larissa Copello

Consumption and Production Campaigner

Larissa has a background in Law and she worked as a Legal Consultant on environment, health, and safety policies. She is passionate about environmental protection and sustainable development practices. She likes to organise and manage her time well, but she is also ready to deal with unexpected and adverse situations. Also, Larissa is a zero waster at heart, and enjoys running campaigns and empowering people towards sustainable consumption patterns. She enjoys practicing sports in general, but yoga and dancing are her truly passion. She also likes cooking and preparing her zero waste cosmetics and products, while fostering her creativity!

Zero Waste Roubaix: an ecological and economic challenge for the city

Alexandre Garcin

Deputy Mayor, in charge of Environment, Roubaix

Alexandre Garcin is a civil engineer, expert in sustainable city development. Since 2014, he is Deputy Mayor of the city of Roubaix (97,000 inhabitants) where he implemented a zero waste policy.

Local Benefits of Repair & Reuse Antigone Dalamaga

RREUSE President, Director

Ecological Recycling Society

Antigone Dalamaga is based in Greece and is the Director of the Ecological Recycling Society, a national NGO in Greece, promoting the prevention, reuse and recycling. She represents the NGO both in Zero Waste Europe and in the RREUSE (Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises) where she has been president for the last 7 years. She has over 20 years’ experience in the field of Sustainable Waste Management at the local, national, and international levels and how it links to to job creation. She has participated as a researcher, expert and project manager in over 30 international projects. She has contributed as an expert to approximately 80 studies, reports and toolboxes of various EU funded projects.

17:20 - 17:30

CONCLUSION