Circular Economy and Quality of Life · Preparatory project
LIFE-ZWC-UKRAINE
Zero Waste Cities in Ukraine
About the project
Ukraine's waste management is changing under the Waste Management Law adopted in June 2022, which began aligning national legislation with EU law, and the national waste strategy was updated in 2023 to run to 2035. Current efforts focus mainly on new infrastructure without a clear picture of local needs, and municipal administrations often lack the capacity for a systematic approach. The project audits the waste management systems of four Ukrainian municipalities, trains municipal staff, develops long-term zero waste strategies and launches one infrastructure pilot per municipality, covering bio-waste, textiles, electrical and electronic waste, hazardous waste and construction and demolition waste. At least 648,537 citizens are expected to benefit, and results will be presented to municipalities in the Volyn, Kherson and Kharkiv regions and in the Pokrovsk territorial community.
Ukrainian municipalities with audits, strategies and infrastructure pilots
citizens expected to benefit from improved services (minimum)
waste streams covered by the pilots
municipalities and Pokrovsk TC settlements to receive the results
Ukrainian participation
The project is implemented in Ukraine with eleven Ukrainian participants, including city councils, municipal enterprises and local zero waste NGOs. According to the Ukrainian Zero Waste Alliance, the four beneficiary communities are Lutsk, Kherson, Pokrovsk and Derhachi; the Executive Committee of Liubotyn City Council, originally a participant, has been terminated. Results are to be presented to 53 municipalities in Volyn region, 48 in Kherson region, 55 in Kharkiv region and 41 settlements of the Pokrovsk territorial community.
| Organisation | Role | EU contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Public Union Ukrainian Alliance Zero Waste | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €381,007 |
| Municipal Enterprise Ecopolis of the Kherson City Council | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €67,410 |
| Executive Committee of Lutsk City Council | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €58,454 |
| Municipal Institution Community Development Agency of Pokrovsk City Council | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €40,542 |
| Municipal Enterprise DergachiEkoResurs of Dergachi City Council | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €31,586 |
| Mariupol Zero Waste | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €17,728 |
| Zero Waste Lutsk | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €17,728 |
| Public Organization Ecological News | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €17,728 |
| Zero Waste Kharkiv | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €17,728 |
| Executive Committee of the Liubotyn City Council of Kharkiv Region(participation terminated) | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €0 |
| Pokrovsk City Council of Donetsk Region | Beneficiary | EU contribution: – |
For calls before 2021, the EU contribution per participant is not published.
Consortium
Coordinator
Laboratório da Paisagem de Guimarães
Portugal
Ukraine
- Public Union Ukrainian Alliance Zero Waste
- Municipal Enterprise Ecopolis of the Kherson City Council
- Executive Committee of Lutsk City Council
- Municipal Institution Community Development Agency of Pokrovsk City Council
- Municipal Enterprise DergachiEkoResurs of Dergachi City Council
- Mariupol Zero Waste
- Zero Waste Lutsk
- Public Organization Ecological News
- Zero Waste Kharkiv
- Executive Committee of the Liubotyn City Council of Kharkiv Region
- Pokrovsk City Council of Donetsk Region
- See “Ukrainian participation”
Belgium
- Zero Waste Europe
Germany
- HiiCCE Hamburg Institute for Innovation, Climate Protection and Circular Economy GmbH
Italy
- Comune di Carmignano
- Zero Waste Italy – Rifiuti Zero Italia
Portugal
- Município de Guimarães
- Município de Oeiras
Links
- Official project page (CINEA)webgate.ec.europa.eu(opens in a new tab)
- Partner page about the projectzerowaste.org.ua(opens in a new tab)
- Zero Waste Europe press release on the projectzerowasteeurope.eu(opens in a new tab)
- Coordinator news: Guimarães study visitlabpaisagem.pt(opens in a new tab)
- Institutional capacity training programme (Ukrainian Zero Waste Alliance)zerowaste.org.ua(opens in a new tab)
Sources and verification
Data verified on 19 Oct 2026 against official sources: