Rethinking waste, one reflection at a time
30-01-25
In October 2024, Sandra Marcela Ramirez Ubate, an environmental engineer from Colombia, joined Danida Fellowship Centre’s Solid Waste Management and Technology learning programme that took place in Denmark. Discover her perspectives.
Compiled by Elena Adamo
Perhaps you have already met Sandra Marcela Ramirez Ubate. The first time we featured Sandra was in September 2024, when she was planning her trip to Copenhagen where she was to take part in Danida Fellowship Centre’s Solid Waste Management and Technology learning programme as part of the sector collaboration between Copenhagen Cirty and Bogotá on waste management.
Watch the first steps in a waste management revolution in Bogotá
Sandra works in Colombia at Superintendencia de Servicios Publicos Domiciliarios, the Colombian government’s agency responsible for overseeing and regulating public utility services such as the water supply, energy, sanitation and waste management.
Her mission in Copenhagen? To bring back ideas related to monitoring, data collection and reporting that would foster a cultural shift back home: ideas that would encourage people to rethink waste as a valuable resource in alignment with a zero-waste policy.
Are you curious about her journey? Let’s dive into her photo diary! Click on the date and link below to read about Sandra Ramirez Ubate´s day by day learnings and reflections during her time in Denmark.
At the Danish Technological University (DTU), the atmosphere buzzes with energy as Professor Anders Damgaard launches the learning programme. In the room, Sandra joins a group of 21 participants from 6 countries (China, Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Thailand) all eager to share experiences and goals.
When it is Sandra’s turn, she is clear on her mission: to identify ideas—not one-size-fits-all solutions—that can inspire the development of new approaches to waste management that can be applied in Bogotá as a model for the rest of Colombia. Her focus is to get ideas on how to facilitate a cultural shift to help the population see waste as a resource.
Her takeaway of the day: “It’s not about copying another model,” she says, “but about discovering what could work uniquely for my city.”
Her takeaway of the day: “To recycle better, we need to separate better”.
Today, Sandra joins a cycling tour of Copenhagen’s waste systems, led by Nanna Rosenfeldt, project manager of the Strategic Sector Cooperation between Copenhagen and Bogotá. Riding “Christiania” cargo bikes – so called because they are produced in Christiania, a rather famous district in Copenhagen – they visit residential waste collection points.
As they cycle through Nyhavn, Sandra notes how small residential bins work efficiently in the Danish system and she reflects on the differences.
“Bogotá’s system is quite different,” she says. “We rely on much larger waste-collection machinery.”
Her takeaway of the day: “It’s fascinating to see how this works here, but I wonder how it could be translated into a form that would work in our context”
By Week 3 Sandra’s action plan is beginning to take shape.
During the learning programme, all participants make an action plan to describe how they will transform the ideas and knowledge received during the programme into action back home. Sandra’s plan ties in with a broader regional plan aimed at creating regulatory and financial incentives for waste recycling and treatment systems. Her focus is on the importance of monitoring, using data to drive a cultural shift towards waste being viewed as a resource, and on the responsibilities of companies in this regard.
Sandra tells us that the most valuable insights she has gained during her learning-by-seeing journey in Denmark so far, have come from seeing the technologies in place and the way waste is viewed as a resource—two critical components that drive change.
An example that stands out is the Solrød Biogas plant that converts residual products into green energy.
Sandra notes that while food waste is Colombia’s most common form of waste, using it for heating might not align with the country’s priorities.
Her takeaway of the day: “While each country has unique solutions, some best practices can ignite real change – and this is what I am mostly looking forward to finding out today.”
It is the final week and the last day of the learning programme. Sandra, along with her fellow participants, is ready to present her action plan. The setting is once again the Danish Technical University (DTU), but this time for Sandra the room is full of mixed emotions—excitement from sharing ideas and sadness at having to say goodbye to all the people she has collaborated with for the past four weeks.
They are all professionals from across the globe, working with different aspects of waste management, each facing challenges in their own unique contexts. They have exchanged ideas, debated solutions, and built a shared understanding of what it takes to create meaningful change in waste management. As in every learning programme, this moment is not just about presenting action plans: it is about honouring the connections the professionals have made and the knowledge they have gained by being together.
Sandra’s key takeaway on this very last day? Transformation begins with collaboration.
She plans to start implementing her action plan back home by hosting meetings to share her insights and engage stakeholders in the vision of a zero-waste future. Her focus continues to be improving waste management and ensuring fairness for all, and her journey has not ended, it has just begun!
At Danida Fellowship Centre, we hope that Sandra and all the other participants will join the Danida Fellows Network where they can continue to meet online or in person to share knowledge and exchange ideas.
