More buses, but is the system better? Evaluating Bishkek’s public transport network
April 29, 2026
Over the past few years, the public transport fleet in Bishkek – Kyrgyzstan’s capital city – has changed visibly. In a city where privately operated minibuses, known as marshrutkas, dominated for years, new gas-powered buses and electric buses are now in service.
Advancing sustainable municipal waste management in Ukraine: Lviv agglomeration case study
April 21, 2026
As Ukraine moves forward on its path towards EU integration and post-war recovery, the need to replace outdated waste disposal practices with modern, inclusive and financially sustainable systems is growing. This makes municipal waste management a key area of reform.
Inclusive waste governance in practice: Report from a fact-finding mission in Berat, Albania
March 18, 2026
This report presents the pilot as a successful initiative and a transferable case study that can inform policy and donor programming, as well as future replication in other Albanian municipalities and beyond.
Sofia’s burned lesson: Why the Western Balkans must ditch waste incineration
November 25, 2025
While Western Balkan governments scramble to solve their energy and waste crises by turning to incineration, a clear lesson is emerging from the EU: burning waste is a dead end.
From cost to value: How EU funds can boost biowaste circularity in central and eastern Europe from 2027
November 11, 2025
Biowaste, the largest component of municipal waste, is the second-biggest source of methane – a gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years.
Bishkek residents seek mediation to restore trolleybus service
August 19, 2025
Residents of Bishkek have asked the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) to facilitate dialogue with urban authorities over concerns about the city’s trolleybus services.
Europe’s big trash-burning experiment has become a dirty headache
July 27, 2025
“Many of these installation plans would turn out to be obsolete,” says Anelia Stefanova, energy transformation area leader for CEE Bankwatch, since EU countries are expected to meet waste reduction and recycling targets enforced by EU laws.
Rethinking urban mobility: Why green vehicles are no fix for broken transport systems
May 26, 2025
The EBRD’s new Infrastructure Sector Strategy represents a significant step towards sustainable urban transport investments. However, it remains to be seen whether the implementation of the strategy will strike the much-needed balance between infrastructure investments and policy actions.
Zero Waste Europe: Despite EU waste management budget, CEE states struggle to catch up
March 17, 2025
Report co-authors Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, strategic area leader at CEE Bankwatch Network, and Evgenia Tasheva from the Za Zemiata Zero Waste team, tell us that: “EU funding has disbursed significant amounts to much-needed investments in CEE since 2021, at least EUR 584 million went to waste incineration, and only EUR 228 million to biomass plants, mainly in the fund’s largest beneficiaries, such as Czechia, Poland, and Romania.”
EU budget gap holding back municipal waste reform and decarbonisation in central and eastern Europe
March 10, 2025
A new report by Bankwatch, Za Zemiata and Zelena Akcija, in collaboration with Zero Waste Europe, reveals that current EU budget allocations for circular economy and municipal waste management measures are insufficient to help central and eastern European countries catch up with the EU’s decarbonisation targets.
