10 Mar 2026
Radostin Tanev, Deputy Mayor responsible for Transport, Ecology, Investments and Green Transition, opened the international conference under the TEXAD project.
“Welcome to Stara Zagora, the greenest and most beautiful city in Bulgaria. We decided to apply under this programme because we want to play an active role in these processes. Stara Zagora is also the only Bulgarian municipality participating in this project,” Radostin Tanev emphasised.
“We have many years of experience in managing textile waste. In 2018, we started with 18 tonnes, while last year we recorded 146 tonnes of processed waste. This shows that the municipality’s strategy is working and that communication with residents is effective. At the same time, it also means that people are generating increasing amounts of textile waste,” the Deputy Mayor added.
Radostin Tanev expressed confidence that the forum represents another step in the Municipality of Stara Zagora’s waste management strategy and that the experience shared during the meeting would benefit all participants.
A special surprise for the international guests was a performance by the Zagorche children’s folk ensemble. The talented children brought a festive atmosphere to the event and presented the guests with martenitsi, while the host explained the Bulgarian tradition associated with 1 March.
The event continued with the first presentation of the day, delivered by Rositsa Raykova, Head of the Department of Investments, Energy Efficiency and Green Transition, and Polina Filcheva, Chief Expert in the Department of Ecology, Landscaping and Forests. Their presentation addressed “Waste Management in Bulgaria”.
Also attending were Rositsa Koprivchina, Director of the Directorate of Public Transport, Cleanliness, Ecology and Landscaping; Plamen Yordanov, Head of the Department of Ecology, Landscaping and Forests; and experts from the Department of Investments, Energy Efficiency and Green Transition.
From 10 to 12 March, Stara Zagora is hosting the event, which brings together representatives from seven European countries participating in the TEXAD project, funded by the Interreg Europe programme.
The project is managed by Rositsa Raykova, Head of the Department of Investments, Energy Efficiency and Green Transition at the Municipality of Stara Zagora. Veronika Petkova, Chief Expert in the same department, serves as the project’s Communication Expert.
During the first day, participants will learn about the municipality’s policies and measures for managing textile waste, as well as good practices and innovative models for textile collection, reuse and recycling.
The programme for the following days includes further presentations by companies and organisations from the textile sector, focusing on sustainable design, circular fashion and effective textile waste management.
Participants will visit Natalia AD, a company based in Stara Zagora, take part in an interactive session to exchange experience and ideas, and attend a seminar on financing with representatives of the European Investment Bank and Recycling Europe. The event concludes on 12 March 2026.
