On 13 June, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the reform of municipal waste management regions proposed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM), moving from ten waste management regions (WMRs) to five: South Kurzeme, Latgale, Central Latvia, Vidzeme, and North Kurzeme WMRs.

The goal of implementing the reform is to ensure economically sound waste management, which includes a balanced approach to waste management infrastructure and waste generated in the region, as well as reasonable transport distances from the points of waste generation to the municipal waste landfill. By 30 December 2023, the municipalities belonging to a waste management region will develop regional waste management plans for their respective regions, which will facilitate the achievement of waste management targets and the securing of EU structural fund financing.

Taking into account the objectives set out in the National Waste Management Plan 2021-2028, it is essential to reduce the disposal of municipal waste in landfills, cutting the volume to 10% by 2035 (currently about 60% of municipal waste generated in Latvia is landfilled), and to increase municipal waste recycling to 65% by 2035 (currently, 44% of municipal waste is recycled in Latvia). It is projected that the volume of separately collected waste will increase, which necessitates the development of infrastructure to divert recyclable materials collected separately for processing.
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