Strengthening movements, transforming communities: Zero Waste Alliances meet in Limassol
What does it take to build and sustain a movement? How can national alliances work together to push for stronger zero waste strategies? What tactics and tools are needed to strengthen a movement and join forces with others for wider impact?
In early November, Zero Waste Alliances gathered in Limassol, Cyprus, for a 3-day event to tackle these questions and more. The gathering brought together representatives from Zero Waste Movement Bulgaria, Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus, Zero Waste Germany, Alianza Residuo Cero (Spain), and Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine and the ZWE team. Together, we learnt from each other and explored together what it takes to build, maintain and expand a movement, within the framework of the Blueprint for Movement Building project, supported by the UMI fund.
A project born from shared ambitions
The Blueprint for Movement Building project supports five European Zero Waste alliances in becoming key voices for zero waste strategies in their countries. Through documenting their experiences alongside lessons from over 15 years of building the zero waste movement in Europe, we will create a living manual – a Blueprint for Movement Building – that analyses and captures successful patterns in movement building. The Blueprint will bring together knowledge, reflections, how-to guides and case studies from ZWE’s own movement building work as well as learning from other movements in Europe and beyond, to serve as a practical guide for any group working on social and environmental topics.
A key aspect of our work with the Zero Waste Alliances and the Blueprint project is to spend time together to explore the lessons learnt from practically coordinating these movements at national level and enhance the alliance’ capacities in movement building skills. During our meeting in Cyprus, each alliance shared updates on their work, the successes and challenges they faced in the last few months, and their plans and ambitions for the next year. We spent time sharing learning and good practices while exploring issues and their potential solutions together. Discussions centred on shared experiences like membership engagement, collective strategising, building campaigns, collaborating with other movements, communication strategies, and mobilising volunteers.
Sabina Maksimova from Zero Waste Movement Bulgaria commented “Being together is the best way to convince yourself that you are on the right track towards your zero waste goals. And even better is to be supported by peers on that long and complicated zero-waste journey through knowledge-sharing and valuable hands-on-experience.”
We also had a chance to work on the first draft of the Blueprint itself, gathering ideas, feedback and questions before we finalised its first iteration! And of course, we laughed, danced, ate amazing food and connected with each other to cement our little community of ZW alliances!
Discovering some of Limassol’s Zero Waste initiatives
After two days of thinking, sharing and learning, we had a chance to learn about a range of ZW initiatives in Limassol thanks to an exciting programme planned by our local members, Friends of the Earth Cyprus. Members of the Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus also participated, fostering meaningful connections with the group.
After our Cypriot breakfast, we set off to explore a few zero waste spots in Limassol, starting with the Centre for Exchange and Reuse, a beloved community fixture founded and run by Polydora and Yiannis Kakoulli. For over three years, the shop has served as a hub where residents can donate or pick up items, operating on a simple, donation-based model that prioritises support for those most in need. Over the years, it has become a vital community resource, especially for people who have arrived in Cyprus as refugees, single mothers and people living in poverty. Without core funding to support this work, sustaining the shop and its operations over the long term has been a significant challenge, leading Polidora and Yiannis to make the difficult decision to close it.
Next, we visited Agno Shop, Cyprus’s first zero-waste refill store offering consumers low or no-packaging products to help reduce waste. The owners, Dimitris and Kristina, want to revive an old way of shopping, one familiar to our grandparents, when goods came with less packaging and more local. Their goal is to offer the community a sustainable option for everyday shopping and contribute to reducing waste and ultimately eliminating plastic.
We also joined Andreas from the Sustainability Office of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) for a walk-through of the university’s sustainability practices. Andreas presented CUT’s zero waste and circular economy initiatives on campus, highlighting their efforts to embed sustainability into academic and operational practices.
We spent time at Serious Products Lab with Eva Korae, where different materials are creatively repurposed into innovative, experimental products using traditional manufacturing methods. Founded in 2023 within the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology, the Lab is a space where pre-industrial craftsmanship meets modern sustainability.
“Being together gives us power and confidence and is a great motivation never to give up and do our best to change the world we live in and engage more people with a zero waste way of life” said Eleonora Yosifova from Zero Waste Alliance Bulgaria “Working as a community of like-minded people inspires and helps us feel supported and stronger.”
Cyprus and Limassol waste plans: from Pay-as-You-Throw to organics management
Our day continued at Limassol Town Hall, where we had a chance to discuss various waste management and reduction strategies with representatives from the national and local government. We had a discussion with the Department of Environment on Cyprus’s upcoming Pay-As-You-Throw system and the government’s strategies for tackling food waste in the coming years. In a brief exchange with the Mayor of Limassol, Yiannis Armeftis, the group stressed the importance of a system tailored to the island and Limassol’s unique waste challenges.
And to wrap up our time at the Town Hall, together with members of the Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus, we took part in a session on Limassol’s Climate City Contract and ‘Mission Cities’ Project, discussing how waste prevention and management play a key role in reaching a climate neutral Limassol. We exchanged ideas on how to further engage the community in the implementation of the project and shared good practices from other projects in Cyprus as well as relevant zero waste strategies from across other parts of Europe.
“The Zero Waste Alliances meeting in Cyprus has been a memorable and productive experience, fostering connections, and strengthening our shared commitment to a zero-waste future. We are very honored to host the Alliances meeting and showcase the Cyprus efforts towards a more sustainable future.” Olivia Skordi Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus
Looking ahead: the Blueprint for Movement Building
With our hearts and minds full of joy and learning from our time together, we’ll now take all these experiences, lessons, and insights gained by the five alliances to converge them into our online blueprint, a resource hub designed to support activists in every phase of movement building, from initial setup to long-term strengthening.
This blueprint will offer a collection of practical tools, including essential questions for movement builders, hands-on toolkits, and real-world stories from the ground. Activists will have access to a dynamic space that provides both guidance and inspiration, empowering them to build impactful, sustainable movements.
“The spirit of the Zero Waste Alliance meeting is totally inspiring to continue the work on Zero Waste, because there are so many good people in this team, who believe in the vision and I want to see their glow if the vision gets real” Michael Cieslik from Zero Waste Germany.
This project and work would not be possible without the invaluable support from the UMI Fund.
