The European Union and UNDP support the reopening of a plastic recycling workshop run by Ukrainian teenagers

LETYCHIV, Ukraine, May 2024 – A plastic recycling workshop was made operational in a creativity centre in the town of Letychiv, in Khmelnytskyi Oblast due to support from the European Union and UNDP. The workshop has the relatively rare technical capability to recycle plastic waste marked as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to make sign boards, stencils, and even benches. A similar workshop was set up in Kherson in 2020, as part of a world network of such workshops called “Precious Plastic”, with the aim of reducing and preventing the littering of the Black Sea coastline. The Zero Waste Team – a group of teenage volunteers – successfully operated this workshop from 2020 until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. Regretfully, Russia’s war of aggression caused the Kherson workshop to close after many of the teenagers from the Zero Waste Team and their leader moved to other cities.

With the support of the EU-UNDP project “European Union for Improving Environmental Monitoring of the Black Sea” (EU4EMBLAS), all of the Kherson workshop’s equipment was reallocated to a new location – Letychiv, in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. This town was selected as a new home for this initiative because many of the families of people from the Kherson workshop had found refuge here.

The establishment of the plastic recycling workshop in Letychiv is a testament to the EU’s commitment to supporting environmental sustainability and innovation in Ukraine. “By repurposing equipment from the Kherson workshop and engaging local communities, we’re not only reducing plastic waste, but also fostering resilience and community cohesion in war-affected areas.”

In Letychiv, the Centre of Creativity NGO, jointly with the Association of Internally Displaced Women, found and prepared a suitable premises for the workshop, and then called on local kids to collect waste plastic and participate in its transformation into useful goods.

In a plastic collection competition announced prior to the workshop’s opening, seven teams managed to collect 46 kilograms of plastic cups. During an exciting excursion and quest, the participating children learned how to create new things out of the waste plastic they had collected. This is just the beginning: the project hopes for the long-lasting and successful operation of the workshop in its new premises, which will help reduce the amount of plastic waste and contribute to cleaner environment.

Jaco Cilliers, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine said: “We’re proud to see the opening of the plastic recycling workshop in Letychiv, which not only provides a sustainable solution to plastic waste but also empowers local communities to actively participate in environmental conservation efforts,” he said. “This initiative demonstrates the power of collaboration between NGOs, local authorities, and international partners like the EU and UNDP in driving positive change for Ukraine.”