On 20 September, Poltava became one of the venues for Sweden on Tour – an initiative by the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine designed to showcase Sweden’s support for and partnership with Ukraine in the regions.
As part of the fair in the centre of Poltava, organisations and companies operating in Ukraine with Swedish support presented their projects. The WM4U programme, which forms part of Sweden’s large-scale support for Ukraine in the field of waste management, also took part in the event. The WM4U team spoke about the programme’s work, introduced visitors to modern approaches to waste management, and invited them to test their knowledge in a waste sorting game.
Visitors to the fair were also given biscuits bearing positive predictions about the future of the waste management sector.
It was particularly pleasing to see that the people of Poltava are well-informed about waste sorting practices – from the youngest visitors to the city’s older residents. Many already sort their waste at home and plan to expand this practice. The Swedish Ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Oberg, also took part in the WM4U game.
After the fair, representatives of the Swedish delegation, the Poltava Regional State Administration and local authorities met on the football pitch – among the players was WM4U national expert Oleksandr Ignatenko, of whom the programme team is very proud.
The event provided an opportunity not only to highlight the Swedish-Ukrainian partnership but also to strengthen ties between the people and organisations working together for Ukraine’s development. For WM4U, it is also an opportunity to demonstrate the programme’s contribution to the development of a modern waste management system and to support Ukraine’s transition to European standards in this sector.