Research project WATRA

Partner: University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna, Austria
Funding: OeAD (Austrian Exchange Service) GmbH
Duration: December 2016 until February 2018
Contact:                   Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Christina Dornack
                                    Dipl.-Ing. Roman Maletz         

The transformation from a planned to a market economy was a major challenge for the post-socialist states of the Eastern bloc. Public services were financed by the state and now had to be adapted to the new economic conditions. The waste management sector often has the biggest problems due to underfunding, the visible impact on the cityscape and the resulting environmental problems.

The aim of this research project is to support the reformation process in the waste management sector in Belarus and Ukraine by promoting international cooperation and capacity building of waste management actors and participating universities.

To this end, comparative studies of different post-socialist and non-socialist countries will be developed by students, PhD students and young scientists in order to identify success factors and best-practice examples, taking into account, among others, the EU's efforts towards a zero-waste strategy. This will then be used to develop country-specific roadmaps; in particular, the experiences of the former GDR in its transformation and Austria will serve as examples of viable waste management developments.

In addition to workshops, an Erasmus+ cooperation will be established to ensure the continuation of this cooperation.

In summary, the project activities can be outlined as follows:

• Development of a study and a roadmap for the reformation of waste management in the post-socialist countries former GDR, Ukraine and Belarus,
• two workshops and trainings in Ukraine and Belarus on sustainable waste management,
• Development of an Erasmus+ cooperation with the participating universities.