To kickoff Connective Cities agile short-term formats, an insight session entitled “Zero-waste city: an elusive goal for municipalities?” was held on the 4 October 2022.

Achieving sustainable waste management in many cities remains an elusive goal despite the political statements. Air and soil pollution and increasing costs to collect and treat waste, including expensive investments in landfills or incinerators are among the challenges that impede municipal progress. To this end, the zero-waste approach offers an alternative option and aims to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills or incinerators through waste prevention, reuse, and recycling.

The session, which was also included in “Urban October 2022 @GIZ”, has provided insights into municipal experiences from Ljubljana (Slovenia), Berlin (Germany) and Irbid (Jordan). The discussion between the speakers and audience highlighted the need to initiate change in the citizen’s behaviour towards waste through measures promoting reduction and separation of waste. Any progress towards waste prevention, reuse, and recycling can be more impactful than chasing an unattainable goal of ‘zero-waste’.

You can find the recordings both in Arabic and English language on the event’s page of the Connective Cities Community.