Making Waste Work aims to minimise the volume of waste produced, manage it in a more sustainable way and improve public awareness of waste issues. The project will focus on three separate themes and implement pilot projects within these themes: Waste management schemes, Employment and business opportunities and Public motivation and awareness. A Best Practice Guide on waste management practices and methods will be developed jointly, as well as a pilot model of a Waste Education Resource Centre.

Waste issues cut across spatial boundaries and affect us in many different ways whether it is through pollution, land use or depletion of resources. However it is possible to make waste work through combining waste measures such as waste management systems, employment and business initiatives and working with public motivation at a local and regional level. The aim of "North Sea Sustainable Waste Management Project", Making Waste Work, is to produce a sustainable waste management strategy that minimises the volume of waste produced, manages it in a more sustainable way and develops public motivation and awareness of waste issues.

Expected Outcomes

The main outcome will be highlighting the importance of sustainable waste management practice at all levels of the community, set practical baselines for comparison and improvement and run local projects to explore and test new methods and approaches. The practical outcomes will include development of a Best Practice guide for waste management in the three key strands. A number of small infrastructure projects will be undertaken to help develop and evaluate new techniques in waste management and a Waste Education Facilities Centre will be piloted. A number of educational programmes will also be undertaken including a public information campaign, various publications and press coverage.

Activities

The activities are based around three key strands: Waste Management Systems, Employment and Business Opportunities and Public Motivation And Awareness, with four projects undertaken to address these three areas. The first project, 'Understanding Common Issues', will establish baselines corresponding to the three strands, design centralised composting schemes, pilot school/office recycling projects, establish a young persons' network and carry out information, education and publicity campaigns. 'Implementing Joint Actions' will implement local pilot projects which include measures to increase employment in the waste and recycling sector, actions to increase local use of locally recycled materials, techniques to identify and dispose of difficult waste fractions as well as public education around waste minimisation. The third project is 'Recommend and Evaluate', in which the project will be assessed and results and conclusions from the Local Implementation Projects will be compiled. A joint assessment and review of new methods and practices of waste management that have been explored and shared during the project will be finalised and a Best Practice Guide will be produced. The project will be concluded with 'Reporting, Dissemination and Conclusion'. Additional follow up actions will be identified during the course of the project.

Reported Outcomes

Making Waste Work aims to minimise the volume of waste produced, manage it in a more sustainable way and improve public awareness of waste issues.The project will focus on three separate themes and implement pilot projects within these themes.· Waste management schemes: composting schemes; recycling; how to manage difficult waste fractions.· Employment and business opportunities: measures to increase employment in the waste and recycling sector; actions to expand opportunities for local use of locally recycled materials.· Public motivation and awareness: develop young persons network; information, education and publicity campaigns; set up local Technical Forums based on wide cross-sectoral partnerships.A Best Practice Guide on waste management practices and methods will be developed jointly, as well as a pilot model of a Waste Education Resource Centre. The project has established 14 local implementation projects and technical forums in each partner country. The local implementation projects are grouped under three project themes; waste management, employment opportunities and public motivation. Each project has a lead officer who communicates with the theme leader. These implementation projects have generated considerable joint learning at a local level. For example, Moss has been observing how Aaskov has achieved such a high home composting performance. Aaskov and Moss have also been working on the issue of trying to ensure that recycling of certain fractions such as plastics are commercially viable. An interim progress report has been already published. The technical forums have served as a useful means of targeting specific sections of the community dealing with waste issues. In 2004 the Making Waste Work project has been presented to 100 delegates at a conference in Krakow in Poland. In 2005 a trans-national meeting has been held in Moss, which delegates from all the partnerships attended. The project has also established a Young Persons Network. An dynamic progress in activities of the network is visible. In October 2004 a party of children from Moss has visited Falkoping and in March 2005 a visit for Norwegian and Swedish children in Stockton has been organised. At present the Young Persons Network has its own section on the project website. All projects have been carried out and performed according to the original project scheme.