The round table “Sustainable practices and measures to prevent contamination of landfills with mercury-containing waste”

The round table “Sustainable practices and measures to prevent contamination of landfills with mercury-containing waste” was a part of the active phase of the joint creation of the Roadmap within the framework of the project LIFE Mercury-FREE “Complex Awareness Raising and Behaviour Change for the Mercury-Free City Environment” and took place on September 21–22, 2023 at Lviv Polytechnic National University.  Life Mercury-FREE project partners from Lviv Polytechnic National University (LPNU) and “Ivano-Frankivsk Academy of Ivan Zolotousty” (IFA) organized this event.

The workshop “Sustainable practices and solutions to reduce mercury pollution in urban ecosystems” was part of the Round Table. The purpose of the round table is to present the results of scientific research and discuss and share sustainable practices and solutions for reducing mercury pollution in urban ecosystems. 

Roundtable discussion topics

1.      Management decisions regarding the management of mercury-containing waste in the city.

2.      Strategies for handling mercury-containing components in the city: experience and prospects.

3.      Environmental safety of handling mercury in the city as an element of national security.

4.      Best practices for handling mercury and its components in the city.

5.      International experience of handling mercury and its components: a case for Ukrainian cities.

The event was held in a hybrid format and brought together 50+ participants from Ukraine and EU countries.

Friends and partners of the project joined the initiative of the LIFE Mercury-FREE LPNU team:

• Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lviv Regional State Administration
• Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lviv City Council
• Department of Waste Management of Lviv City Council
• Department of Emergency Situations, Civil Protection and Territorial Defense of the Lviv City Council
• State Institution “Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”
• State Ecological Inspection in Lviv region 
• The main department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Lviv region 
• Educational and Methodological Center of Civil Protection and Life Safety of Lviv region
• Non-governmental organizations
• “Bodnarivka” subsidiary of the Lviv municipal company “Green Lviv”
• ECO Cluster Association
• Lviv city council
• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
• Universities and institutes

The guest speaker Dr Yvonne Ryan, Associate Professor of Geography, Sustainability, and Climate Adaptation University of Limerick, Ireland, participated in the round table. Her presentation was “E-Waste and Mercury Pollution: Sources and Potential for Capture”.

It was also conducted a survey of opinions of employees of the Lviv City Government units (total sampling), responsible for municipal waste management, concerning their point of view on the regulations on hazardous chemicals waste management (including mercury), and their vision of the citizens’ attitude to the problem.

Photo: Nataliia Pavlyshyn