ZAGREB, September 25, 2018 - The Croatian government's priority is to develop a circular economy, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy is intensively working with local government units in building infrastructure for separate waste collection so that Croatia could recover at least 50 percent of waste by 2020, the ministry said on Monday.
According to a report by the European Commission, Croatia is one of 14 European Union member states at risk of missing the target of recycling 50 percent of municipal waste by 2020.
In any case, Croatia must primarily develop a waste recovery system and a recycling system and eventually reduce the amount of mixed municipal waste as much as possible, the ministry said in response to Hina's request for comment on the EC's report.
It added that, in accordance with the EU waste directive, Croatia was making preparations for reuse and recycling of waste such as paper, metal, plastics and glass.
The ministry said it was working closely with local government units in creating the necessary infrastructure for separate waste collection, including the purchase of waste containers and construction of waste recycling yards and sorting facilities, and was helping them obtain EU grants.
The construction of infrastructure, as well as training and awareness raising, which are very important for establishing a separate waste collection system, will help increase the separate waste collection rate, which was 27 percent in 2016, the ministry said.
The ministry noted that it was in close contact with the European Commission in drawing up an action plan that would clearly define infrastructure capacities for separate waste collection and waste recycling, and capacities for processing residual waste before disposal. This should discourage excessive reliance on processing mixed municipal waste.
It is only through joint efforts by all stakeholders - local and regional government units, ministries and private citizens - that the rate of waste recovery and the preparation of recovered waste material for reuse and recycling could reach the targets set, the ministry concluded.
