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Waste In Georgia

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Sometimes simple words can explain difficult topics. That is what we try here with this 4 Q&A. Read, enjoy... and feel free to ask more.


Around 900,000 tons of waste are generated annually in Georgia, ending up in legal landfills, recycling schemes, or, very often, directly in nature. Littering affects inhabitants' life quality, triggers soil and water pollution that threatens biodiversity, human and animal health, and affects tourism. Remote and poor areas are most severely impacted due to deficient infrastructure. There are no official statistics on waste ending up directly in nature but there is significant factual evidence. The three main causes are: (i) insufficient number or low quality of bins and collection; (ii) illegal dumpsites and; (iii) occasional littering.



Avoiding waste in nature is not difficult but it requires comprehensive and consistent action and a 360° approach. And guess what, it is mostly a question of common sense.

First, we need education. People need to be educated NOT to throw the garbage in nature. At GreenSquads, we sometimes unfortunately meet people who think this is part of the culture to throw waste in nature. Throwing waste in nature is not cultural, it the result of a lack of education. At GreenSquads, we believe that the best education is the education by DOING.

Second, we need infrastructure. We need more bins to make it easier for citizens to throw their waste in the bins. It is sometimes difficult to walk several hundred meters to reach the first bin. We also need better bins that close easily to avoid wind and animals to take the waste out of it. We finally need more trucks. If the bins are not collected regularly, they soon get full and overflow.

Finally, if, despite all these efforts, waste ends up in nature, we need clean-ups. This is burdensome and requires efforts but remember... any minute with less waste on earth increases chances for biodiversity.



To be clear, the recycling market in Georgia is very fragmented and not functioning. To ensure proper recycling, we need a good separation of trash, a good collection system and recycling companies.

Separation and collection

Let us start with a bad news: every inhabitant in Georgia experiences that today the vast majority of trash collected (glass, aluminum, plastics, paper) is not separated and end up the same bins. It is also no secret that when the trash is mixed, it makes recycling very difficult. Some municipalities are starting but it remains at a very small scale because of inefficient separation and collection.

Let us continue with a good news: more and more initiatives are emerging to create collection system of separated trashes. Just to name a few, the network Eco-Taxi in Tbilisi is a service of pick-up of waste from households and businesses for recycling. Local initiatives with collection points like Spectri in Kutaisi or Tege in Samstkhe-Javakheti.

Recycling

Concerning recyclers, they exist but are mostly in or near Tbilisi. This makes the logistics difficult in the regions. Moreover, because of the inefficient collection system, most of these recyclers need more raw material. For plastic, we want to single out the great work done by the recycling company Polyvim. A comprehensive list of recyclers is available here.



According to the Waste Management Code applicable in Georgia, the response is clear, simple and written black on white in Article 8 of the Waste Management Code:

Suspect number 1

The person whose action conducted to littering the nature. For example, the organiser of a picnic, the person who throws trash directly in nature, the person who “forgets” to bring the trash in the bins and leaves it on the road... This person will be obliged to clean the area. Depending on the amount of trash, the sanction can also be between 80 GEL and 500 GEL for an individual (up to 1500 GEL for a legal person).

Suspect number 2

If we cannot find Suspect number 1 (the person directly responsible), the owner of the littered area will be ordered by the municipality to clean the area. For example, the owner of a forest can be ordered to clean the littered area, even if he is not directly responsible. Importantly, if the owner is the municipality, the municipality has to clean.

To keep in mind: there is always someone responsible. Nature should not be the one paying.