At the LRATCA general meeting of members, relevant issues of waste management were discussed

in 2024 February 22 A general meeting of members of the Lithuanian Regional Waste Management Centers Association (hereinafter referred to as LRATCA) was held in Jurbarkas district to discuss general issues and news of regional waste management centers (hereinafter referred to as RATC).

At the beginning of the meeting, Algirdas Reip was thanked for his 22 years of responsible and efficient work as the head of the Alytus RATC and his long-term leadership of the LRATC association. Donvina Arlauskienė, the newly appointed director of Tauragė RATC, was also congratulated.

“Algirdas Reipas, in my opinion, is one of the people who made the biggest contribution in Lithuania to the creation and improvement of the waste management system. It is a pity that an experienced specialist and a good leader have to leave the position they have held for many years after the possible terms of office have expired. However, it is understandable that everything changes, therefore, while wishing Algirdas success in the further path of life and new achievements in his career, we are also happy with the newly joined Tauragė RATC manager Donvina Arlauskiene and we wish her and the renewed team led by her success in their difficult but important duties” – LRATCA president Žilvinas Šilgalis spoke while presenting the souvenirs.

During the meeting, the situation of waste management in the Tauragė region was discussed, experience was shared on how to operate the landfill properly, and how to manage the resulting filtrate. It was agreed on the familiarization visits of the new head of Tauragė RATC to other RATCs.

The separate collection of food and kitchen waste, which has already started in several regions, is discussed, the beginning of which poses challenges for everyone, but it is understood that correct, but difficult initial actions at the beginning of collection are better than the imitation of separate food waste collection, by additionally releasing huge amounts of plastic (orange bags) into the market. , but collecting in the same stream.

According to the head of Alytus RATC, A. Reipa, whose center has been collecting food and kitchen waste separately for five years, the example of the Vilnius region is a pathetic imitation, but not a separate collection of food and kitchen waste. Such a method does not comply with the European Union (hereinafter – EU) directive and does not fundamentally change anything, but only causes additional damage and compromises the entire separate food waste collection process.

The meeting discussed regional waste management prices that have not yet been approved by the State Energy Regulatory Council (hereinafter – VERT), discussed the pending amendments to the Waste Management Law, which may further increase waste management prices for residents, discussed how it would be more correct to use the EU funds allocated for the treatment of biodegradable waste, shared information about ongoing trainings for RATC specialists, agreed on the format of the following trainings and the date and place of the reporting LRATCA meeting. At the end of the meeting, LRATCA vice-president Laurynas Virbicks shared his experience from the visit of representatives of LRATC association members to Latvia at the invitation of their association, during which broader opportunities for cooperation were discussed and experiences shared.

The general meeting removed the Vilnius County Waste Management Center (VAATC) from the RATC association by a majority of votes, considering both the violation of the statutes and the malicious non-payment of the membership fee, only the long-term destructive behavior of the head of the VAATC, Tomas Vaitkevičius.