NUCC welcomes Khmelnytskyi delegation to Norway to Explore Industrial Waste Management & Textile Recycling

Last week NUCC had the pleasure of welcoming a Ukrainian delegation from Khmelnytskyi and organizing a study visit to Oslo and Sandefjord to learn Norwegian best practices on industrial waste management, circular economy solutions and textile recycling.  

Khmelnitskyi is one of Ukraine’s key hubs for textile and light industry, hosting a dense concentration of garment manufacturers and one of Eastern Europe’s largest clothing markets. However, alongside this strong production base comes a significant volume of post-production textile waste. Addressing this challenge is becoming an important priority for the city, which is why the delegation travelled to Norway to learn from Norwegian experience, successful circular models and effective waste-management approaches. 

The delegation included representatives of the Khmelnytskyi Municipality, the Municipal Office “Smart Environment Khmelnytskyi”, Khmelnitskyi National University, the Podillia Fashion Cluster (PFC) and the EDIH ClotexHUB, as well as the NGO “Agency for Sustainable Development ASTAR.” 

Throughout the week, participants engaged with leading Norwegian organisations at the forefront of circular innovation and sustainable production. The programme included meetings with Oslo Municipality to learn about city’s policy framework on waste management and how circular principles are incorporated into procurement practices, textile-reuse systems and social initiatives, with SINTEF,one of Europe’s leading independent research institutes, the Norwegian Centre for Circular Economy (NCCE) to learn about advanced recycling methods, digital tools and industrial collaboration models that support circular value chains, with Noveltex Oslo, as well as social enterprices such as Leftovers Company, ReLove, and RE//LAB Circular Textiles, which showcased innovative approaches to reuse, upcycling and community-driven circular solutions. The delegation also met with Norfund – the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, the Embassy of Ukraine in Norway, and SMB Norge – the Norwegian Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. 

In Vestfold and Sandefjord, the delegation visited Vesar, the regional waste-management company serving six municipalities, where they visited sorting and recycling facilities and learned how local waste streams are managed. The programme concluded at Den Magiske Fabrikken (The Magic Factory), a biogas plant converting organic waste into biogas, bio-fertiliser and green CO₂ — a flagship example of circular bioeconomy in practice. And Norsk Tekstilgjenvinning (NTG) AS, Norway’s first textile-to-textile mechanical recycling facility, observing the entire process from sorting used textiles to producing new fibres for circular value chains.  

The study visit was organised under the pilot project “Reinventing industrial waste: driving growth and environmental protection in Khmelnytskyi via reuse strategies,” conducted under the "Green industrial recovery through municipality-based development in Ukraine» Project, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 

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