LIFE SMART Waste project completion
4 September 2020
The LIFE SMART Waste project (2014-2020) has finally drawn to a close with the completion of its ambitious action plans to develop and demonstrate innovative ways of understanding, tackling and reducing the issue of waste crime.
Over six years, LIFE SMART Waste developed and piloted a range of innovative tools, techniques and approaches offering capacity-building potential for agencies seeking to address the issue of waste crime. The project's work has also yielded a number of recommendations intended to inform and influence European policy and legislative changes. Significantly, these outputs have not been achieved by the project beneficiaries¹ alone.
Calum MacDonald, Executive Director (SEPA) and Chairperson of both the LIFE SMART Waste Project Board and INTERPOL's Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Committee Advisory Board, acknowledged the significant collaborative support provided throughout the project. He said:
"We are very grateful to the many environmental regulators, law enforcers, industry representatives and technology experts who helped us with contributions to our research, development, pilot studies, interventions, dissemination and governance during the project. Although there are too many colleagues, organisations and networks to name individually, it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the considerable support of our External Steering Group, the five environment protection agencies of the UK and Ireland, IMPEL, Europol, the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management and the LIFE-ENPE project. We are particularly grateful to INTERPOL and the Pollution Crime Working Group who, for example, we partnered in hosting the ‘Smarter waste regulation and pollution crime enforcement’ conference in Brussels during November 2019.
"The LIFE SMART Waste project’s collaborative work has delivered practical insights, resources and recommendations with the potential to make a significant impact on the issue of waste crime. Environment protection agencies now have an opportunity to adopt, improve and further develop the project’s tools, techniques and approaches. By doing so, agencies can increase their capacity for detecting, disrupting, diverting and deterring illegal waste management practices. Equally, policymakers and legislators have an opportunity to use and build upon the project’s recommendations to implement lasting changes that will improve environmental compliance in the waste management industry, in turn achieving the project's aim of smarter regulation of waste in Europe."
Layman's report published
The LIFE SMART Waste project has published a Layman's report to provide a high level summary of the project's results and recommendations.
Further information about the LIFE SMART Waste capacity-building is available in the project's Publications web page.
Note
¹ LIFE SMART Waste project beneficiaries (i.e. project partners contributing resources and benefitting from EU LIFE Programme contributions) are:
- ACR+ (the Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management);
- Brussels Environment;
- Natural Resources Wales;
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
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