INTRODUCTION OF A SYSTEM FOR SEPARATE COLLECTION AND RECOVERY OF TEXTILES THROUGH CONCRETE STEPS AND MEASURES WAS DISCUSSED BY THE AUTHORITIES AND BUSINESS

The creation of a roadmap with concrete steps and activities for the introduction of a separate collection and recovery system for textiles in the country and the formation of a working group to develop a strategy for the sector. This is what the business community, representatives of the state authorities and the non-governmental sector agreed on at the conference "Circular economy in the textile sector: practices, solutions and policies", which took place on 17.10.2023 in Sofia. The initiators of the event were the Bulgarian Circular Textile Association and the Bulgarian Industrial Association.

The aim of the forum, which brought together representatives of the authorities, European institutions, business and industry experts, was to find a workable solution related to the introduction of the separate collection system for textiles in Bulgaria. According to European requirements, from the beginning of 2025 all EU member states must collect unwanted textiles separately so that they do not go into the general garbage and are landfilled.

"The experience that we have in BCTA and that we have accumulated in recent years with the collection system we have built in Bulgaria, and thanks to our work throughout Europe, the United States and Canada, we can transfer this experience very quickly and literally in a few years to cope with the task," said at the conference Sevdalin Spasov, Chairman of BCTA.

Dobri Mitrev, President of the BIA Board, added that the business has a huge benefit from reusing the resources. "The municipal waste fee continues to be charged on the basis of a property's tax assessment or book value of assets, rather than applying the polluter pays principle. This is unfair and in no way motivates the population to collect separately. Separate waste collection is the second step towards a workable system and is of economic importance to every Bulgarian citizen. As far as textiles and shoes are concerned, when talking about the amount of the product fee, it is imperative to talk about the correct spending of this fee, because at the moment there is a lack of any specificity," said Dobri Mitrev.

As a common outcome of the meeting, all participants agreed on the need to create a roadmap - a strategic document for the sector that would define when and how the phased integration of European policies and practices should take place. The MoEW is committed to activate the topic and the work on it and, as a first step, a working group is planned to be set up with representatives of all stakeholders to jointly map out the action plan.