Study Visit on Circular Economy in Gothenburg
Gothenburg city has an ambitious plan to become sustainable, which includes a goal to become climate neutral by 2030. To make this happen they are forced to make the economy circular and the visitors from Serbia are learning how during a study visit in September.
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The team from Serbia on a visit to Sävenäs Incineration Plant
A part of the long standing co-operation between SALAR and the Serbian Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) is working with environmental protection. For the first time, this area of co-operation is focused specifically on circular economy where the project supports the city of Kruševac. The aim is to assist Kruševac in developing a roadmap towards a more circular economy.
The Swedish support has consisted of expertise provided by The Research Institute of Sweden (RISE) and peer support from Gothenburg municipality’s department of Sustainable Waste and Water. To get a live image of what circular economy means in practice the Gothenburg team put together a comprehensive study visit for the Serbian delegation from Kruševac, the Ministry of environmental protection and SCTM.
The visitors were given a chance to follow the waste prevention ladder from: a) how to avoid waste b) how to reuse waste c) how to recycle waste and d) how to produce energy from waste. All with the intention of minimizing the final step —putting waste on a landfill. Urban mobility strategies also included eye-openers on how to increase bicycle lanes at the expense of car parks. High interest was also shown towards Gothenburg’s water treatment strategies and how to mitigate the climate change implications.
The delegation learned that communication and dialogue with the citizens is very important to reach results.
The concept of listening to the “silent majority” was enlightening for me, said Jana Pavlovic from SCTM.
There is always a risk that the loudest people get unproportional attention and prevent necessary change, she continued.
Kruševac —a future forerunner in Serbia
A challenging task lies ahead for Serbia to move towards a more circular economy but Kruševac is determined to become a forerunner. Each day of the study visit was filled with inspired discussions about what is possible to change in the Serbian context and for Kruševac specifically. Ideas were exchanged between those operating at national and local levels respectively. The study visit was a positive experience also for the Gothenburg representatives, as expressed by Sandra Alm from Gothenburg;
It was rewarding to hear the participants' reflections on which of our examples they could incorporate into Kruševac, but also on the obstacles and limitations that exist.
SALAR International´s project in Serbia
The SALAR International project “Sustainable and inclusive service delivery at local level” helps preparing Serbian local authorities to adjust to EU standards and regulations by improving conditions for services delivery by enabling local dialogue and improving public administration.
To meet EU standards and regulations, Serbian municipalities and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) are required to make special preparations. These preparations have been key in the longstanding project co-operation between SALAR and SCTM. The current, third, project phase builds further on the previous achievements. In this phase the project goes into practical and concrete results in the four project implementation areas, which are: environment (including circular economy), disaster risk reduction, gender mainstreaming and support to women’s entrepreneurship.