Sport #WithoutWaste
Sport #WithoutWaste is a European collaboration project to develop sustainability plans for grassroots sport organizations to contribute towards the European Green Deal goals. Together with partners in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Albania, and Turkey, we research the challenges, develop guidelines, put on pilot events and tactical urbanism interventions, and then analyse ongoing challenges and opportunities for waste free grassroots sporting events in the Balkans. Natural State is the expert advisor for the project for placemaking and research and analysis for strategic planning.
EU Project, ongoing
While there are already efforts for proper waste management in the sport industry, most of these are focused on mass events. Much less attention is paid to the impact of grassroots sporting events on the environment, and often local sports clubs and NGOs lack the required awareness, knowledge and resources to make their outdoor events waste-free. Despite grassroot sport aims to contribute to a healthy social and natural environment, flaws in waste management efforts or lack thereof at grassroots sporting events result in littering of the urban and natural environment and improper waste disposal. The problem of waste management is particularly acute in the Balkan countries–Data from Plastics Europe’s 2020 report “Plastics - the Facts” shows that Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, have some of the lowest plastics recycling rates with figures of only 20 to 30% of the plastic waste being recycled.
The Sport #WithoutWaste Solution
The Sport #WithoutWaste project aims to start a #WithoutWaste movement focusing on 6 countries in the Balkan Region- Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Albania, and Turkey. Together with our partners and their local networks, we will develop competencies of grassroots sports providers to work towards these goals by conducting events #WithoutWaste, and in the long term contribute to changes in citizen behaviour related to littering, as well as generating and disseminating information to create evidence for policy makers, and translating grassroots practices into policy strategies.
How to achieve these goals?
Placemaking methodology: The #WithoutWaste employs the placemaking methodology and tactical urbanism approach, to transfer knowledge and build the capacity of partnering organisations to coordinate waste-free grassroots sporting events.
Partners: Together with the project lead BGBeActive, Natural State is working with ENVERÇEVKO in Turkey, AJSPT Suceava (Association Sport for All Suceava- Romania), Serbia Association Sport for all Serbia (ASFAS), HSSF (Hungarian School Sports Federation), and FSHSSH (Albania Sport), and ISCA – International Sport and Culture Association in Denmark.
Activities: Natural State works with the partners on building their capacities in placemaking methods, researching the grassroots sports events and capacity building activities organized in each Balkan country, and sharing our insights on achieving the overall project objectives.
As part of the Sport #WithoutWaste project, Natural State’s Kim Weger participated in the "Sport as a tool for healthy and green planet" symposium in Brussels on April 11th–bringing together partners from the City, Green, Go! project and participants from across Europe. Together we explored innovative ways for how grassroots sports organizations can support achieving behavioral change for sustainability through sporting events, communication, and community engagement.