20-21 November A delegation from the Association of Waste Management Companies of Latvia visited Lithuania at the invitation of the Association of Regional Waste Management Centres of Lithuania (LRWMCLA). The aim of this cooperation was to exchange best practices in waste management, visit waste management facilities and gain insights into the Lithuanian waste management system, while aiming to improve the infrastructure and innovations in both countries. The visit, which was attended by representatives from Kaunas, Alytus and Klaipėda Regional Waste Management Centres, focused on waste recycling and energy recovery solutions in Lithuania.
“We face common challenges in waste management and cooperation with neighbouring countries is essential to share experiences and find practical solutions.” – Laurynas Virbickas, Vice President of LRATCA and Director of Kaunas RATC, emphasises. He notes that this return visit is a follow-up to the visit of the LRATCA delegation to Latvia in February, where food waste management practices were presented. “Such reciprocal visits provide an opportunity to learn from each other and improve infrastructure and processes,” adds Mr Virbickas. This idea became the guiding theme throughout the visit, which was reflected in all its stages – from the visit to the Kaunas cogeneration plant to a detailed look at the waste management infrastructure in the Kaunas and Alytus regional waste management centres.
The working visit started at Kaunas Cogeneration Plant, where the Latvian delegation got acquainted with modern waste-to-energy solutions. These solutions are of particular interest to Latvia, as the country is still in the process of developing its waste-to-energy infrastructure.
The delegation then visited the Alytus Regional Waste Management Centre, where the activities of the Takniškės Technology Park were presented. The guests were shown the mixed municipal waste sorting and food waste treatment facilities, the “TikoTiks” item exchange space and other infrastructure facilities. Particular attention was paid to the composting site, which uses advanced aeration technologies and automated processes to produce high quality compost suitable for agriculture and landscaping.
On the second day of the visit, the delegation visited waste management infrastructure facilities in Kaunas region. Laurynas Virbickas, Director of Kaunas RATC, gave the guests a familiarisation tour of the mechanical-biological treatment facilities and gave a detailed presentation of the technological process improvement works implemented since 2020. He highlighted the importance of repairs and modernisation of the facilities, upgrading of the ventilation system cleaning and other improvements in order to ensure more efficient waste treatment and environmental standards. The guests were briefed on the changes that have not only improved the quality of the plant’s operation, but have also contributed to more sustainable waste management solutions with a lower environmental impact and a more efficient extraction of secondary raw materials from the mixed waste stream, which has almost quintupled in volume since the modernisation of the plant.
At the end of the working visit, the delegation visited “Kaunas Švara”, where it was presented how the city’s cleanliness is organised, including municipal waste collection, street cleaning and environmental maintenance. Latvia has a more fragmented municipal services sector compared to Lithuania, so it was particularly interesting for the delegation from the neighbouring country to learn more about the centralised service delivery model and its advantages.
The highlight of the last visit was a visit to the regional landfill site in Lapiai, where the guests were able to see how the waste management cycle is put into practice. They were presented with solutions for storing, aging, screening and further use of ash generated after waste-to-energy at the Kaunas cogeneration plant.
