On 9th November Mr. Thor Sverre Minnesjord, our partner in the Circular Based Waste Management project, visited Mažeikiai district municipality and met with the leaders of the Municipality, specialists of the Administration of Mažeikiai district municipality and representatives of Telšiai region waste management centre. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ideas and possible technological solutions for a new large size waste collection site and a ReUse centre for used items, which is planned for implementation in Mažeikiai.
The meeting with the CEO of Green Business Norway and Expert partner in the project, was attended by the Mayor of Mažeikiai district municipality Vidmantas Macevičius, Advisor to the Mayor and project manager in the Circular Based Waste Management project Virgilijus Radvilas, specialists of the Administration, project partners from the Telšiai Region Waste Management Centre and representatives of the design company Hidroterra UAB.
The feasibility study carried during this project has identified the most suitable location for a new large waste collection and sorting site and ReUse centre. This lies in a plot of 1,1 ha in an area sitting between the industrial zone and residential area of the city. When built, residents will be able to bring items they no longer use and exchange them for items more useful to them. It is also aimed for the centre to provide repair services for valuable items and to offer education sessions on repair and reuse.
During the meeting 4 possible solutions for this idea were presented, the targeted version was selected and the priorities that should be followed while preparing the design were agreed upon. The importance of circular economy in waste management were also discussed and future perspectives as well as possible organizational and technological principles of the centre’s activities. Renewal and returning of unusable items brought in by residents to the market were also touched.
On the day the possibility for another project was discussed, that of a new industrial park, the design and operation of which, will also be based on circular economy priorities.
The previous day, a work meeting was held at Telšiai regional waste management centre to discuss their current waste management operations and use of secondary raw materials and future plans.
Entrepreneurship Day
The visit coincided with Entrepreneurship Day, an event where students from Mažeikiai Merkelis Račkauskas and Židikai Marijos Pečkauskaitės Gymnasiums presented their business ideas after taking part in Accelerator 2022, a programme designed to give students of grades 5-8 and 9-12 the opportunity to try the basics of creating a real business while still at school.
The event started with the entrepreneurship lesson “Business successes and failures. Career opportunities in Mažeikiai district business enterprises” given by well known companies in Mažeikiai and attended by youngsters aged 16-17.
Entrepreneurship mentality relates to almost all fields of society and not only to creating new businesses. The CEO of Green Business Norway presented some of his perspectives and learnings from his journey starting as an independent consultant 25 years ago, the founding of Green Business Norway as a professional organisation for the Norwegian Circular Economy Industry and the establishment of the accelerator programme in Green Business Norway for start-ups and innovative ideas.
During Accelerator 2022, students worked on the entire cycle of business management: establishing a company, accumulating initial capital, planning, analysing consumer needs, creating and selling their service or product and conducting a marketing campaign. The young companies were mentored by a mentor working in schools – a teacher who is trained to work with this program.
The young companies also received advice by the social partners of the gymnasiums – including representatives of the Mažeikiai Entrepreneurs’ Association, the advisor of the Municipality Mayor, Virgilijus Radvilas, who has been patronizing the school business for the previous year.
During the second part of the event, the business ideas of the young entrepreneurs were evaluated with 10 nominated. What is worth noting is that around half to a third of the companies established by the youngsters, were centred around topics related to sustainability or use of materials from renewable sources.
Mažeikiai district municipality selected young company EKA as the best sustainability project. The young company aimed to show that it is possible to recycle paper anywhere for use at home and for educational needs.
Entrepreneurship Day was featured in local newspaper Santarvé. The article (in Lithuanian) can be found here.
The Circular Based Waste Management project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation – eeagrants.org.
