Smetumet - where discarded meets design: waste redefined

By project CLEAR CITIES

Published on 24 February 2025

Slovenia

Zahodna Slovenija

About this good practice

Smetumet is the response to waste crisis that we are facing in todays modern culture. Our main topics of concern are waste, circular economy and sustainability at large. Combined with design, creativity and humour, we like to deliver practical solutions towards a circular, waste-free future.

Our area of work is two-fold: first, we deliver awareness raising campaigns around waste related topics for a number of different stakeholders. Second, we design products from waste materials, specialising in good design and new solutions for existing problems.

We work with different groups, from pupils, students and educators to legislators, ministries, municipalities as well as for profit companies. We find it important to collaborate with fellow NGOs, experts and professionals in the field. We strive to combine different topics around waste and sustainability so we can offer fresh perspectives on the issue. We believe in building a strong community, in good design, in using storytelling as well as always including people with disabilities into our projects.

Our past projects include work and campaigning on the issues of marine plastic, cigarette butts, waste plush toys, industrial symbiosis and community building around sustainable practices.

Expert opinion

Waste generation in Europe is on the rise. On average, every European citizen produces nearly half a tonne of municipal waste and the annual waste generation in the EU amounts to 2.5 billion tonnes. To reverse this trend, the EU supports a waste hierarchy featuring waste prevention as the number one priority and clearly the most efficient way to save resources and lower the environmental impact of waste. With the Circular Economy Action Plan, the EU aims to redesign its linear production model to be circular. This good practice is aligned with this policy. Smetumet combines awareness raising, stakeholder engagement, production of new products from waste materials, and advisory services for both private and public sector. They are an established organisation actively engaged in waste prevention activities, with a track of results. Such organisation could be established in other regions and cities across Europe.

Magda Michaliková

Works at Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform

Resources needed

Our NGO has at least 2 full-time staff, with additional team members for larger projects. We collaborate with around 15 external professionals and are funded through national and international grants, along with revenue from upcycled product sales.

Evidence of success

On a yearly basis we conduct more than 100 activities (workshops, lectures, exhibitions, etc.), produce more than 1000 products and collaborate with at least 50 organisations. Smetumet has been active for 18 years, has so far collaborated with 15 Slovenian municipalities, has collaborated with at least 200 professionals and over 80 companies. Smetumet has a Public Interest status in Slovenia.

Potential for learning or transfer

We act as a connecting element in bringing together individuals, schools, companies, municipalities, decision makers. On a practical level, we bring sustainability, especially topics around waste to all before mentioned groups and make change possible. We have been working on bringing change for 18 years and our success lies in being able to collaborate with stakeholders and act as a bridge that connects them as well as connecting them to change.

Our solutions are practical and our superpower is to distill the concepts around waste and sustainability at large into practical solutions that individuals and organisations can incorporate into their work and life. From cigarette butts to industrial symbiosis, circular economy to communicating marine plastic- we combine waste minimisation strategies with good design and creativity. As a result we bring real solutions to the table. Our visible end results are new concepts, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, products and services.