The future of waste sorting and new challenges in municipalities’ environmental behaviour were the main focus of the roundtable discussion “Ecology and Its Future”, held on 21 January 2026 at the Avion Hotel in Brno. Mayors from across the Czech Republic debated with experts from the Ministry of the Environment, the Czech Waste Management Association and the State Environmental Fund about what currently works in waste management, where the system is reaching its limits, and what changes the incoming government may introduce.

The discussion focused on concrete steps for environmentally responsible waste management in municipalities and on how to motivate residents to adopt more sustainable behaviour. The Faculty of Business and Economics at MENDELU was represented at the meeting by Ing. Lucie Veselá, Ph.D., from the Institute of Marketing and Trade.

Lucie Veselá’s research focuses on the potential of reuse centres, upcycling, and consumer behaviour in the context of the circular economy. At the roundtable, she presented findings from studies conducted by the Institute of Marketing and Trade, showing that while people want to live sustainably, unclear rules and long-established habits often make this difficult in practice.

“Public education on environmental issues alone is not enough,” Veselá says. According to her, people want to sort waste, avoid unnecessary consumption, and use reuse centres, but they are often held back by the lack of a simple and logical system. “Even well-informed consumers often fail to act sustainably in practice — not because they are unwilling, but because they lack a clear incentive and easy-to-follow guidelines that would make responsible behaviour easier,” she adds.

A current topic of focus is the sorting of cans and tins

Mayors and experts discussed new legislation, funding opportunities for municipalities, multi-stream waste collection, and textile sorting. A major topic at this year’s meeting was the expansion of metal recycling. Municipalities are exploring how to collect cans and tins alongside plastics in the yellow recycling bins.

The meeting was supported by the Minister of Agriculture, Martin Šebestyán; the Mayor of Brno, Markéta Vaňková; the Director of the State Environmental Fund, Petr Valdman; and the Governor of the South Moravian Region, Jan Grolich. Financial support was provided by the statutory city of Brno and the South Moravian Region.