From Waste Management to Circular Economy: SAI Cyprus Hosts EUROSAI WGEA

The Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus hosted the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) Spring Session on May 7-8, 2019, in Kalopanayiotis, Cyprus. The main theme of the meeting, which was attended by approximately 50 representatives from 23 countries, was the transition from waste management to a circular economy (the prevention and recycling of waste).

The keynote speakers from Cyprus, Estonia, Vision on Technology for a Better World ( an independent organization in the areas of clean technology and sustainable development), and the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law set the stage for productive discussions about the challenges SAIs will face when auditing national implementation of circular economy policies to reduce waste.

Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) presentations highlighted efforts currently being undertaken in the area of waste management, including recent audits on package waste management and waste management strategies. However, circular economy is still a new topic for most SAIs. For SAI Cyprus, one of the key messages stemming from the audits was the importance of aligning national strategies with EU regulations related to circular economy and with the new targets for waste reduction, so as to avoid incurring unnecessary costs by creating infrastructure to deal with current waste levels.