Sorting biodegradable waste will be mandatory in Latvia as of 1 January 2024, LSM reports. Currently, only around 25% of Latvian households sort their waste, according to a Norstat survey for waste management company Getlini EKO. The company has opened a website that allows residents to request that biowaste containers be placed at their address….
A large fire broke out at Lithuanian waste management company Ecoservice’s sorting facility near the Gariunai marketplace in Vilnius on 5 August 2023, BNS reports. Mindaugas Sestokas, head of Ecoservice’s production division, said that non-hazardous waste had caught fire in the company’s sorting centre. Also, a fire broke out at state-owned hazardous waste management company…
Estonia’s Ministry of Climate has drawn up an updated national energy and climate plan that includes more ambitious renewable energy and climate neutrality targets, ERR reports. Under the plan, Estonia would produce all power from renewable energy sources by 2030 and be completely climate neutral by 2050. Climate Minister Kristen Michal asserted that the plan…
Part of a wall of the wastewater treatment plant in the Latvian port city of Liepaja collapsed on 23 July 2023, Baltic News Network reports. The State Environmental Service (VVD) said that around 1,250 m3 of untreated sewage leaked into the environment as a result of the accident, LSM reported. Municipal authorities urged residents to…
Lithuanian stores no longer have free disposable plastic bags, prompting buyers to consider changing their habits, DELFI reports. Customers seem to be not immediately willing to give up disposable bags and are willing to pay 1 cent for them. However, most buyers expressed their intention to change their habits and start using reusable bags. One…
Latvia’s state-owned railway company, Latvijas Dzelzcels (Latvian Railways), has announced an auction of 5,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap metal on 12 July 2023, DELFI reports. The starting price will be EUR 300 per tonne. The items available for bidding include used railway rails of various lengths, turnout parts, rail fasteners, car retarders, and various rolling…
The Estonian company, Filaret, has set up collection boxes for cigarette butts in Tartu, ERR reports. Ines-Issa Villido, founder of Filaret, noted that around 300 tonnes of cigarette filter waste was created in Estonia every year, which equals to some 100 truck loads. Filaret’s collection boxes will stay at various locations in Tartu until the…
All new beverages sold in Latvia will have to be marked with a Latvian deposit mark as of 1 July 2023, DELFI reports. Beverage producers and retailers had a transition period from 1 January to 30 June 2023 to allow them to adjust to the new rules. Miks Sturitis, board chairman of the deposit system…
Scientists from Latvia’s Riga Technical University (RTU) have developed an environmentally friendly solution to the problem of dusty roads, LSM reports. The solution is now being tested on several road sections. Viktor Kharitonov, lead researcher at RTU’s Faculty of Civil Engineering, said that the solution extracts lignin from waste generated in wood processing and uses…