These events engaged participants in a series of expert presentations, introduction videos and interactive discussions. At the opening of each event, Andrea Dobri, BALTIPLAST project manager from HAW Hamburg University of Applied Sciences introduced this project that developed strategic guidelines, practical tools, and has raised public awareness about plastic pollution.
The June events marked the launch of the digital platform offered by BALTIPLAST, providing resources for reducing plastic waste. The platform offers case studies from cities, an inventory tool, training videos, and other educational materials tailored to different user needs. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to register on the Platform to access these resources anytime – follow the registration steps shown on the right side of this page!
Strategic solutions to reduce plastic pollution in the city
The interactive webinar on 3 June 2025 educated participants on strategic solutions for plastic pollution reduction, including the development of municipal frameworks, guidance documents, and practical tools for implementing sustainable plastic usage practices.
Harri Moora from Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Tallinn presented an overview of the strategic and legal framework solution developed in BALTIPLAST. He emphasized the importance of a systemic approach, combining strategic frameworks with soft solutions and technical measures.
Throughout 2023-2024, the project supported several cities in developing strategic framework documents to address plastic use and pollution on the local or regional level. The forerunning example of a strategic framework was presented by Olof Bergold from the City of Västerås, explaining the city's approach, which evolved from a small "plastic diet" initiative to a comprehensive strategic action plan approved by the City Council. Olof emphasized the importance of political support, enthusiastic staff, clear goals, and long-term thinking, particularly in procurement processes.
Kati Kauppi from the City of Helsinki introduced two documents developed for sustainable plastic usage and litter control: the "Roadmap to Sustainable Plastic Usage in City Operations" to raise awareness and guide city departments, and the "Litter Control Action Plan 2.0" targeting citizens, NGOs, and businesses. Kati shared lessons learned about the importance of early stakeholder engagement, clear goal-setting, and allocating budget for communication campaigns.
Liga Biezina from Valmiera municipality introduced the development of two guidance documents: the first focusing on sustainable use of plastic in the municipality, based on waste audits conducted in municipal buildings; the second providing guidelines for organizing environmentally friendly events, including checklists for different types of events. Liga emphasized the importance of communication and education for both municipal specialists and event organizers to implement these guidelines effectively.
In the fourth case study, Liina Kanarbik from the City of Tallinn introduced municipal regulations and strategies for promoting circular economy and reducing waste, including a waste management plan, a circular economy development plan, and regulations banning single-use plastics at public events. Liina pointed out that municipalities don’t have to wait for national or EU regulations, and can directly decide to take action.
Soft solutions to reduce plastic in offices and schools
On 10 June 2025, the training discovered best practices regarding plastic reduction initiatives for municipalities, businesses and schools, highlighting successful strategies like deposit systems, inventory tracking, and educational campaigns.
BALTIPLAST offers various measures and tools to support the region’s deplastification, and one of them is a simple Excel-based inventory tool. Johanna Gäbken from Plastic-Free City introduced how this tool can help to measure and reduce single-use plastics, emphasizing the importance of measurable actions. It’s crucial to track plastic consumption patterns across purchasing, production, and waste.
Diving into the best practices from cities, Kati Kauppi presented Helsinki's experience conducting a plastic waste inventory in an administrative building, highlighting the importance of collaboration with cleaning services and engaging employees through informative campaigns. Jolanta Reca shared insights from Daugavpils, emphasizing the effectiveness of direct engagement with businesses and organizing local seminars.
Eva Kruse from Västerås introduced their approach to plastic reduction in schools, focusing on hands-on learning and personal motivation. The discussions underscored the importance of data-driven changes, strategic development, and the role of motivated individuals in driving behavioral change within organizations. Liga Biezina presented Valmiera municipality's successful implementation of a deposit system for cups at their city festival in 2024, which reduced plastic waste by 29% compared to 2023. The initiative involved extensive communication with catering providers and festival visitors, including educational campaigns and information booths, with green ambassadors helping to explain the new system.
Underscoring the quantitative impact of plastic reduction measures, Viktoria Voronova from Tallinn University of Technology presented the environmental impact assessments from the BALTIPLAST project, focusing on carbon footprint calculations for municipalities, businesses, and schools. Plastic reduction measures lead to significant greenhouse gas emission reductions, f.ex. Daugavpils municipality achieved a 66% decrease and businesses a 56% reduction in CO2 equivalence. The project also demonstrated that just switching to reusable dishware at large events could reduce plastic impacts by 4-5 times compared to single-use plastics.
Technical solution to reduce plastic pollution in the city
On 16 June 2025, the third part of the interactive webinar series focused on the application of the trinamiX tool for sorting plastics, findings from waste composition studies in different cities, and lifecycle assessment of plastic waste management.
Linas Kliucininkas from Kaunas University of Technology introduced the trinamiX tool tested in the BALTIPLAST project: a handheld device that identifies different types of plastics, including bio-based plastics, using near infrared spectrometry. This tool is lightweight and mobile, directly sending data to a mobile phone or computer for immediate identification. In BALTIPLAST, this tool was tested in a pilot study conducted in three Baltic cities to investigate the composition of plastics in municipal waste streams, and it was shown to improve plastic identification accuracy.
Arturas Torkelis from Kaunas University of Technology presented findings from waste management practices in Kaunas, focusing on plastic packaging collection systems and composition analysis. The study in the city showed that private household owners performed better initial separation of waste compared to multi-apartment residents.
Mikk-Erik Saidla introduced Tallinn's waste management system and their efforts to improve plastic sorting, highlighting also upcoming legislation changes, infrastructure improvements, and awareness campaigns.
Andrejs Zaičenko shared the experience of Daugavpils using a trinamiX tool to identify plastic types, which revealed strong potential for application across municipalities despite some challenges with dark coloured and unlabeled plastics.
Viktoria Voronova, Tallinn University of Technology, presented a lifecycle assessment of plastic waste management in three cities, focusing on carbon footprint calculations. The methodology included plastic production, transportation, and end-of-life options. The results showed significant CO2 reductions across different scenarios. The study concluded that improved sorting and recycling processes, aided by the trinamiX tool, could help reduce reliance on virgin plastic production and optimize waste management planning.
The discussions emphasized the importance of improved sorting and recycling processes, stakeholder cooperation, and political support in implementing effective plastic waste management strategies across municipalities.
