We are pleased to have helped to organize the Slovak-Slovenian meeting of representatives of organisations dedicated to sustainable waste management and transition to circular economy.

Representatives of NATUR-PACK, INCIEN and City of Senec as the first partner of the Municipal Material Circle project in Slovakia visited the Regional Waste Management Centre (RCERO Ljubljana), one of the most modern plants of this kind in the EU.

The municipal waste management system in Ljubljana and, for comparison, in the Slovak cities of Bratislava and Senec, then EPR systems (producer responsibility organisations), the direction of Ljubljana and Slovenia towards sustainability were discussed.

In support of the principles of the circular economy, Ljubljana is involved in the Municipal Material Cycle project in Slovenia.

By recycling the separately collected beverage cartons, it thus provides a secondary source of pulp for hygiene paper products used in municipal institutions.

At the annual Zero waste conference of municipalities, we studied trends in resource and waste management.

We shared the experience about challenges we face in practice at the round table together with the Knof Institute and ZEOS.

In Slovenia, there are already 16 municipalities in the Zero waste network. Together they reduced 18,600 tons of waste, thus saving € 4,200,000 in costs and reduced 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

Photography: Boštjan Selinšek

The Municipal Material Cycle of used beverage cartons and hygienic paper is now presented in a demonstration video story. It illustrates the integration and cooperation of strategic partners in the cycle.

Video demonstrates this circular economy project on a real case study – it all starts with placing the used beverage carton in the appropriate waste bin, so the municipal waste management company can collect the material and deliver it to the collection center. In the following steps the cardboard from the beverage cartons is reproduced into hygiene paper products. In the final step, the local distributor takes care of the supply and delivery of these products to the local institutions in the same local community.

The main purpose of this video is to demonstrate that there is no need to cut down trees to produce hygiene paper. Used beverage cartons are sufficient enough.

The video was produced in cooperation with our MMC project partners: Osnovna šola Zadobrova, Ljubljana, JP Voka Snaga Ljubljana and Valtex.

At the heart of the Municipal Material Cycle (MMC) project is the local model of circular economy.

The project produces hygienic paper (paper towels, toilet paper), which is exceptional because it is made of cellulose obtained by regeneration of cardboard beverage packaging (so-called tetrapak).

The products of paper thus made may then be used by schools and institutions in the municipalities where the packaging was collected.

In Slovakia, the Trnava City participated in the municipal material circle project among the first cities.

The project promotes sustainable behaviour, because the purposeful collection and processing of cardboard beverage packaging will make the waste a useful raw material for paper production. This saves natural resources, especially it is not necessary to cut down trees, from which hygienic paper is usually made. "We citizens of Trnava care about living in a healthy environment and together we want to lead our children to do so. Therefore, I am glad that Trnava is one of the first cities in Slovakia to participate in the municipal material circle project," said Tibor Pekarčík, Vice Mayor of Trnava.

In Trnava, the Municipal Material Circle (MMC) was established following the model of a successful project in Slovenia, where the first municipalities and institutions participated six years ago. Now MMC is expanding across borders, and the first country to be given the green light is Slovakia.

Partners of the project are FCC Trnava, which provides collection of separate wastes, as well as ENVI-PAK, an organization of producer responsibility for packaging.