The visit was organized to study the Swiss state policy and the best practice for hazardous and household waste management and evaluation of its application to the conditions of St. Petersburg, as well as for the expansion of professional contacts with representatives of the Swiss relevant authorities and enterprises.
The visit was organized to study the Swiss state policy and the best practice for hazardous and household waste management and evaluation of its application to the conditions of St. Petersburg, as well as for the expansion of professional contacts with representatives of the Swiss relevant authorities and enterprises.
The educative tour was organized by the “Presence Switzerland” Foundation with the support of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg and the Consulate General of Switzerland in St. Petersburg.
During its stay in Bern, delegation took part in the following meetings:
- in Federal Office for the Environment (Federal Office for the Environment FOEN – is the federal government’s center of environmental expertise and is part of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication, www.foen.admin.ch) to explore the politics of Switzerland (including Swiss law) in the field of environmental protection and waste disposal;
- in the Administration of the capital city Bern (www.bern.ch) to explore
to explore the waste recycling and disposal management at the municipal level, the application of waste management on the federal city and cantonal legislation level;
- in the incineration enterprise "Forsthaus" (www.ewb.ch) to explore the practical activities in the sphere of waste management.
In the canton of Zurich, the visit program included the following activities:
- visit of the wastewater treatment plant, including the production of biogas «ERZ» (www.erz.ch);
- meeting in "Swiss Recycling" association (www.swissrecycling.ch) to explore the activity of individual enterprises in the industry;
- presentation of «SVUT» – Swiss association for environmental technologies, www.svut.ch
(Swiss association for environmental technologies (SVUT) works more than 25 years in the sphere of sustainable and effective environmental technologies and processes development, for example, the use of waste and biomass to generate energy, water management, polygon management, recycling and reuse, "circular" economy and monitoring);
- visit of "Immark AG" enterprise (www.immark.ch)
(In Switzerland Immark AG is a pioneer and market leader in the recycling and reuse of e-waste (electronic components of household appliances).
- visit of "ZAV Recycling AG" enterprise (www.zav-recycling.ch)
(ZAV Recycling AG recently began operating the world's first commercial-scale plant for the processing of dry bottom ash. The plant sets new standards in terms of operating technology, product quality, environmental protection and health and safety management).
Information visit helped to activate specialized contacts of St. Petersburg and Swiss sides. Based on its results, representative of the Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety took part in the 1st Eurasian Congress of recycling e-waste in Moscow in March 2016, which was organized by the Embassy of Switzerland in the Russian Federation and the "Smart Resources" Company. Swiss experts are also invited to participate in the XVI International Forum "Ecology of Big City", which will be held in St. Petersburg from 6 to 8 April 2016.
Swiss experts are also invited to participate in the XVI International Forum "Ecology of Big City", which will be held in St. Petersburg from 6 to 8 April 2016. The Swiss experience is also planned to be considered for organization of collection and disposal of municipal solid waste generated in St. Petersburg.
Reference:
"Presence Switzerland" Foundation is a division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in Bern, it is competent for the image of Switzerland abroad, and implements the strategy of the Federal Council on Switzerland’s communication abroad.