Household Biowaste Management in Latvia: An Assessment within the Infrastructure, Socio-Economic and Environmental Context of Local Municipalities

European Union has committed to lead the way towards climate neutrality and resource efficiency. One of the closest targets includes introduction of a separate collection system for household biowaste (primarily - food waste and green waste) by the end of 2023. In practice, to develop such a system, municipalities in cooperation with waste management organizations must develop all the necessary infrastructure for the collection and recycling of biowaste (separate collection containers, transportation equipment, recycling facilities, information system, etc.), inform consumers, exchange data, and organize the whole process. It requires financial, time, and human resources. The establishment of such a system is a challenge for many EU countries, and those countries that started to implement the system earlier have now made significantly more progress. The aim of the study is to assess the implementation progress of the household biowaste management system in Latvia and five other EU countries, and to propose solutions for system's further development towards circular economy. In the study, the success of the Latvian regulatory framework and the measures taken so far for the development of the system towards the target are assessed. A calculation model is created for determining and forecasting the amount of household biowaste generated at Latvian municipality level. Furthermore, the existing and planned biowaste processing capacities in the waste management regions of Latvia are assessed for their compliance with the projected amount of biowaste generated. Considering the infrastructure, socio-economic and environmental context of the local municipalities an alternative solution is proposed for the development of a sustainable biowaste management system in Latvia, which currently has high risk to not be implemented on time.