Projects of the UNIDO Centre presented at the Moscow International Recycling Expo – 2018

April 06, 2018

The International Forum and Exhibition “Moscow International Recycling Expo-2018”, organized by RUSMET group of companies, opened in Moscow on 27 March 2018. The Forum aims to promote development of secondary resources recycling sector as well as to present the latest achievements in the scrap metal collecting industry.

Within the framework of the event the 14th Forum „Scrap Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals“ and the 3rd Eurasian Congress „Waste Solutions for Electronic and Electrical Equipment“ were held. Guests of the events discussed crucial issues of the global scrap and metal markets, the responsibility of producers, scrap metal in the domestic and foreign markets, cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the industry as well as the recycling of the WEEE.

Sergey Korotkov, Director of the UNIDO Center in Russia, delivered a welcoming speech at the opening of the Expo. In his report, he presented the project „E-waste Academy for CIS countries“. The project is aimed at creating an expert community in the CIS countries able to develop and implement WEEE management systems both nationally and regionally throughout the CIS. The beneficiaries are relevant ministries and departments, business structures, as well as NGOs of the CIS countries.

Within the framework of the Academy training courses were conducted in Moscow (May 2017) and Alma-Ata (January-February 2018). During the lectures and seminars of the course were discussed the legislative and regulatory frameworks of WEEE management, the methods of separation of plastics in the WEEE, the organization of business, the opportunities for commercialization, and the creation of an environmentally as well as economically attractive WEEE utilization system.

More than 80 representatives of ministries, regional administrations, processing companies and NGOs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the training courses.

Furthermore, Sergey Korotkov mentioned the UNIDO project “Creation of a UNIDO BAT/BEP Centre for environmentally safe disposal of potentially hazardous consumer products and industrial wastes”. The main objective of the project was the creation of a modern integrated systems for waste generation and use management based on the example of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) and rubber products in Russia.

Under the project, the EEE Waste Recycling Association, the Shinoecology Association, the International Centre for Best Environmental Technologies were established, and a specialized training course was developed.

Sergey Korotkov noted that „an important result of the project is the involvement of the EEA countries, which supported its project results dissemination on their territories”.

At the end of his report he spoke about a number of projects of the UNIDO Centre aimed at developing a „green“ industry in Russia and financed by various environmental funds.