- Drinking water & Sanitation
- Water, urban planning and sustainable development
- Circular economy & Waste
1st REGARD Network technical day on raising awareness of macro-waste in urban networks

The REGARD network is organising its 1st technical day on raising awareness of macro-waste in urban networks, on 27 March in Saumur , aimed at local authorities, technical services and communication officers.
Co-funded by the Loire-Brittany Water Agency and run by Cedre and OiEau, the REGARD Network supports local authorities in their fight against macro-waste from wastewater systems located in the Loire-Brittany basin.
A network to promote exchange and innovation
Urban networks have been identified as the main routes for transferring waste to aquatic environments (rivers or the marine environment), and it is essential that they are redesigned so that they no longer spread plastic pollution caused by numerous human activities.
While action plans exist at national level, the same cannot be said at local level. Indeed, local authorities and network operators are still coming up against operating constraints, questions about strategy, the methodologies to be applied, the missions of each party and the return on investment.
To remedy this, the REGARD network aims to encourage innovation, the exchange of experiences and the promotion of good practices in the fight against plastic macro-waste from wastewater systems, among rainwater, wastewater and urban ecology departments of local authorities, as well as managers of natural areas.
In particular, the networking of stakeholders facilitates the transfer of knowledge through technical and governance feedback, both for the management of pollution at source and in terms of corrective action.
The scale of the Loire-Brittany basin also marks a challenge for the continuity of actions for continental, coastal and maritime water, by bringing together different players for a common interest.
OiEau, which specialises in basin management approaches and the dissemination of knowledge, sees this project as an expression of its general interest missions.
A website dedicated to technical and operational support
Map of network players, monitoring, events, etc. The International Office for Water has designed a web platform bringing together key information on the project, with resources and reference documents to provide technical and operational support for local authorities.