On April 15, 2021 SZ REDA hosted an Interregional workshop on n how to facilitate the market placement of alternatives for single-use plastics within Activity A3.2b of PLASTECO project. Originally scheduled to take place on site in the city of linden, Stara Zagora, the pandemic situation necessitated its online conduct. Despite the difficulty in conducting a practical event in a virtual environment, SZ REDA's team offered an interactive seminar, including a presentation and dialogue sections.


 

The workshop included 4 thematic panels, presented by established experts in the relevant topics:

- Green public procurement for generating initial demand for alternatives to single-use plastics - lecturer Mr. Nikolay Dimitrov, Head of the Defense Department, Gabrovo Municipality, BG. The presentation is available HERE;

- Eco-labelling schemes for boosting the use of alternatives to single-use plastics - lecturer Ms. Nadezhda Hristova, MoEW, BG, Representative of the European Eco-label for Bulgaria. The presentation is available HERE.

- Development of secondary markets or how to support secondary raw plastic markets through effective policy & financial tools and influence societal behavior - lecturer Mr. Hristo Dikov, Operations Manager of Ecopack Bulgaria Inc., BG. The presentation is available HERE.

- Barriers to market uptake or how to mitigate the impact of barriers to single-use plastics alternatives in PLASTECO territories - lecturer Ms. Teodora Zhelyazkova, Sales Director of Ate Plast Ltd. The presentation is available HERE.

Besides the thematic panels, the participants in the event also took part in 2 interactive games, directly related to 2 of the panels: "What does this sign mean?" and "Find the Alternative!". At the end of the workshop, they were divided into 4 discussion groups similar to the panels, in which they had the opportunity to discuss with each other their experience, upcoming challenges and possible solutions in the future.

We thank all over 70 participants for their active participation in the webinar, valuable contribution  and in-depth discussions!