February the 10th, 2023 - The old Zagreb waste disposal issues and the endless problems surrounding getting people to use the blue ''ZG vrecice'' (rubbish bags allocated for mixed waste as of October 2022) are continuing. Threats of fines seem to have fallen on deaf ears for many and now promises of not only fines but proving who is dumping what with recorded footage are now on the cards.

As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the now not-quite-so-new model of Zagreb waste disposal which came in the form of ZG vrecice/bags introduced just a few months ago in order to comply with the "polluter pays more" principle and to encourage high-quality recycling is showing its first results: there is almost 30% less mixed municipal waste here in the capital, and the amount of recycled material is increasing - there's been 50% more plastic, 30% more biowaste and 9% more paper.

However, in the application of this particular Zagreb waste disposal model, it has also been shown that the effects are not unambiguous because they actually depend on the existence of the infrastructure conditions that are necessary for this model. For example, boxes placed in public areas that are under the supervision of building owners and tenants when it comes to multi-apartment buildings are an issue.

Namely, even at the level of around 90%, the model showed its efficiency when family houses are in the middle, the same is allegedly true for the very heart of Zagreb, however, problems of a different nature have manifested in the segment of multi-apartment buildings. This is actually where the biggest impact of the full application of the previously announced contractual penalty on bills for February is expected because of various errors in the sorting and disposal of the waste.

It can be considered that the ''getting used to it'' period of the new Zagreb waste disposal model has now ended and that it is moving into full implementation, which means also through the procedures for issuing the foreseen individual contractual fines for violators who don't dispose of their municipal waste in the proper blue ZG bags.

Critics of the entire thing have claimed that it will be difficult to implement these fines in a legally sustainable form in a situation where the issue of proper disposal facilities for ZG bags hasn't been solved infrastructurally, and there are still no underground containers which were initially promised.

A professor of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Aleksandra Maganic, believes that, if the emphasis is now on individual punishments, then it would mean that they don't dare to apply collective punishments. In her opinion, people must also make an effort of their own if the blue bags are insisted on.

"The shift from collective to individual punishment is an interesting one, but the question remains as to how it will be determined," said Maganic. If they start by checking the contents of the bags, she says, it can't be said that it isn't a legitimate way, so if they manage to find something so that the guilt is individualised, then that can be evidence. It also raises the question of whether video surveillance must be highlighted as a means of catching those evading these blue bags.

"If it were a civil law sphere of responsibility, the courts could now also use evidence that was conducted in an illegal way, for example that such videos weren't obtained with the consent of the person who was recorded, but even in that case the court can use it if there is no other evidence. At the same time, the so-called the test of proportionality between the violation of the rights of the person who was filmed and didn't give consent, and the court's position that it has been done in the interest of a higher goal (justice) must be balanced out. You've got to prove that there's a balance there to show that the evidence should be used," said Professor Maganic, adding that municipal wardens do have the right to control the contents of these waste bags.

Thus, the emphasis on individual punishment in the first steps clearly proves to be a good incentive to move away from the concept of collective punishment, to which the legal profession had some serious objections from the point of view of constitutionality.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

November the 10th, 2022 - The rather unpopular (initially, anyway) new rules surrounding Zagreb waste disposal came into force on October the 1st. Just how many fines and warnings have been dished out to people failing to respect the new rules here in the capital?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as of December the 1st this year, there will be no more ''blue and yellow bag'' weeks, and plastic (yellow) removal will increase to once a week, announced the head of Cistoca, Davor Vic. By the end of next year, the new Zagreb waste disposal system should be fully operational across the entire capital city, he said for Vecernji TV.

He expressed his satisfaction with the speed with which the residents of Zagreb accepted the model that came into effect on the first day of October. In the first month of the new rules surrounding Zagreb waste disposal, the capital's residents produced 27 percent less mixed municipal waste, increased the separation of bio-waste by 30 percent, while plastic is 40 percent heavier in terms of weight and even more by volume.

"Even on the ground, it can be seen that there is less mixed waste in general, so the prerequisites have been created for us to shift our capacities to recyclable waste," Vic said.

For this reason, for 90,000 service users living in family homes, the removal of mixed waste will be gradually abolished from twice to just once a week. This was introduced for about 60,000 houses by Monday, and it will cover the rest as well before end of the month.

"In family houses, their charged volume is sufficient for removal once a week. But in multi-apartment buildings, where the tanks are outside, we'll reduce the removal of such waste gradually,'' he explained.

Paper, glass and especially plastic will be picked up more often after December the 1st this year. "We have about 100 critical locations from which we collect waste every night because the yellow containers are spilling things out there. In cooperation with communal wardens, we also started issuing fines, which turned out to have an effect,'' said Vic.

This can best be seen in the very centre of the city, where, despite the initial skepticism, the new model for Zagreb waste disposal worked very quickly because people recognised the advantage of not having bins lift out on the pavements. In the first month of its implementation, not many fines were issued or collected, he revealed.

"Over the past few weeks, Cistoca employees stuck warnings or thank you notes on the bins and as such let it be known that we're actually monitoring what bin users are doing. Most of the fines were written for non-compliance with communal rules, which is nothing new. It has always been stipulated that waste can't just be dumped anywhere. We immediately punish people for doing that, and after that we'll start checking what is being thrown in the rubbish containers. The punishments aren't symbolic or excessive, but they're definitely sufficient for people to correct themselves and to understand that we're doing all this for the common good," Vic said.

The focus is on the centre of Zagreb, he added, because it is quite a specific case. As in any city, the highest volume of people stay and pass through there and it is the most touristic.

A big problem, Vic added, is being caused directly by unscrupulous owners of catering and hospitality establishments who use other people's rubbish containers for their own waste.

"We're dealing with that with the municipal police, because they have to deal with their packaging in their own arrangement with Cistoca or with another company. We're in charge of taking away their municipal waste," he said. He also commented on the complaints of residents from Novi Zagreb about the unbearable stench and bad readings at the Zagreb 3 air quality measuring station.

"We haven't yet come across any parameter according to which this could be related to what we're doing at the Jakusevac landfill, because nothing has changed in our business except that we have less mixed waste. It is "business as usual" with us,'' Vic said. As a possible source of the stench, many are pointing the finger at the Zrinjevac compost plant, where biowaste from households is currently processed.

"We have impurities in bio-waste, but we separate it all first and take it to the landfill in the form of mixed waste. There's more biowaste than there was before, but it is still within the planned capacity of Zrinjevac. We constantly have inspections due to reports, but the more they come, the more they determine that we're working according to the permits and rules of the profession," emphasised Vic.

Project documentation for the biogas plant and composting plant in Novska is now also being prepared, sources of financing are being sought, and proper solutions are expected soon. Applications for landfills are still ongoing, two have been built so far, and three are in the process of being constructed.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated news section.

October the 10th, 2022 - The brand new Zagreb waste disposal rules came into force at the very beginning of this month, which saw the introduction of brand new blue bags called ''ZG vrecice/bags'' and which have been the subject of a fair few jokes. The move by mayor Tomislav Tomasevic was made in an attempt to finally tackle the capital's dire issues with waste disposal and collection, encourage people to separate their waste and recycle, and only see people pay for the amount they actually discard. It sounds great on paper, but some are still less than satisfied.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the stomach-turning stench from Zagreb's Jakusevec site is a clear reminder to Novi Zagreb residents that the somewhat infamous city landfill is still very much in function. The site receives tonnes of municipal waste on a daily basis, but it also seems to be organic waste being dumped there that is causing a particularly vile smell. We're all still waiting for the city authorities to announce a concrete plan for closing this outdated landfill, and until then, so many people are left wondering about precisely how justified the new Zagreb waste disposal rules are, reports HRT.

Having to close their windows due to the unpleasant odors that spread from Zagreb's Jakusevec landfill has become quite normal for the tenants of the Novi Zagreb settlements. The former councilwoman from Dugave, Mirela Mikic Muha, claims that the stench is stronger because the procedure for covering the waste with soil is not being properly followed.

"Now it's being driven from the early hours of the morning, as far as I know, from around 05:30, until late into the evening, 22:00, 23:00... I don't know when they can cover it with earth and it stinks because they're no longer adhering to the conditions that they had scheduled in the environmental permit," claimed Mikic Muha.

Residents on the other side of the Sava river are also noticing that the stench is much stronger than it used to be, Most of them have already gotten used to it, but the question is how long this will actually go on for, because people throw away all sorts of things.

"It smells terrible, but it's the worst in the morning," said Mira.

One of the Jakusevec residents' associations claim that everything isn't being done according to regulations. The reason for the increased stench, they claim, lies in the fact that Cistoca disposes of bio-waste in a place where it isn't allowed to do so. Even back in June, they filmed vehicles bringing the waste, and then reported everything to the environmental protection inspection. At this rate of waste delivery, the landfill will soon be full, they claim.

"I'm afraid that in three years, the people of Zagreb will be littering Ban Jelacic Square. I blame the state inspectorate, that is, the environmental protection inspection. They didn't react to several of our reports as they should have," said Ratko Bedekovic, president of the Jakusevec Environmental Protection Association. Accusations that the law is being violated and that bio-waste is getting dumped on the hill due to the undercapacity of the composting facility, are being vehemently rejected by the City of Zagreb.

"Only mixed municipal waste is disposed of at the Jakusevec landfill - so this isn't true," claimed Dinka Zivalj, spokeswoman for the mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomasevic.

A statement from the City of Zagreb also said that 175,000 tonnes of mixed waste were disposed of last year, and the compost plant processed 35,000 tonnes of bio-waste. With this new Zagreb waste disposal model, these numbers will gradually decrease, which is also a condition for closing the landfill entirely.

"I expect that the amount of waste going to the Jakusevec site will decrease because people are separating their waste more and this is an important step in closing the landfill," said spokeswoman Dinka Zivalj.

In order to close it completely, it is necessary to build facilities, among which is a sorting plant owned by the city, but as things stand, the mayor's promise that everything will be done by the end of the mandate now seems almost impossible.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated news section.

September the 28th, 2022 - The fine amounts for those who fail to separate their Zagreb waste as of the 1st of next month when the new system comes into force have now been revealed.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as of October the 1st this year, a new system for the separation and disposal of Zagreb waste will finally be launched, which is a new way of municipal waste collection service spanning the area of ​​the City of Zagreb.

The move has been made because of two main things, namely that the city's problematic waste containers will finally be under the control of their users and that a system will be introduced that encourages users to separate their waste, and then they'll only pay for the amount of mixed municipal waste that they actually produces, Davor Vic, the director of Zagreb's Cistoca, said for Dobro jutro, Hrvatska/ Good morning, Croatia.

"With the appearance of official, standardised bags in stores, counterfeit bags have now also appeared. Creating these was a criminal act," he emphasised, adding that the original bag has been protected. When asked how it will be possible to get the yellow bags intended for separating plastic and metal, Vic said that they will continue to be available as they have been until now. The distribution of new bags will start in October, and people can also come to Zagreb Holding on Vukovarska (Vukovar street), where they can pick up these bags for themselves, as well as buy the new standardised blue ones.

What will the fines for the improper disposal and separation of Zagreb waste under the new rules amount to?

When asked what the fines will be for people who don't behave in accordance with this new decision, Vic said that the fines will be 500 kuna for individuals and 1,000 kuna for legal entities, adding that the City of Zagreb has created a price list of services where the relationship between the minimum public service and the variable part is high. This relationship must encourage users to properly separate their waste.

"The more people separate their waste, the lower their bills will be. Today's system doesn't encourage this at all and we expect that we'll manage to reach the required percentages so that people don't need to pay fines,'' he pointed out in an interview with HRT, emphasising that discounts are being provided in the form of additional bags that won't come at a cost for people who need to dispose of diapers, as well as for households with small children up to three years old. More detailed information about this can be found on Zagreb Holding's website.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

June the 16th, 2022 - A brand new application (app) aimed at the residents of the City of Zagreb is set to make everything rubbish related that bit easier. The new Zagreb Moj otpad (My waste) app is now here.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, ever walked past your building's rubbish containers and seen how that bit of paper or single banana peel was holding on to the edge for dear life? Ever wondered when these mystical binmen actually come and take everything away? Now you'll have your questions answered if you live here in Zagreb. You'll be informed of when the waste removed from your building or doorstep, when a specific street is on the schedule again, and how many visits were there to the recycling yard.

Personalised data on each user of Zagreb's Cistoca is available on the new Zagreb Moj otpad app, which can be accessed from a computer or mobile phone, as reported by Vecernji list.

Prior registration isn't required for use of the new Zagreb Moj otpad app, but the code of the obligor of payment (ie the system number of the obligor) and that of the billing point (ie the system number of the facility) must be entered. Both of these pieces of information can be found on one of Zagreb Holding's single payment slips.

In addition to personal data, the new Zagreb Moj otpad app is equipped with a 2022 collection calendar, which is useful for those who can’t remember which day binmen are due to come to their neighbourhood to deal with the rubbish containers. The calendar can be printed and placed in a visible place such as a staircase or in a building's waste storage area and thus be a reminder of the days when mixed municipal waste is removed, and when biowaste, paper and plastic and metal are taken away. The new Zagreb Moj otpad app is available on Cistoca's website, and can also be accessed directly at mojotpad.cistoca.hr.

For the Android and iOS operating system, the mobile application Cistoce Razvrstaj MojZG is also available, which is intended for all residents and visitors of the City of Zagreb.

It contains a simple overview of waste collection schedule and times at the selected address, as well as full instructions on how to properly sort your waste. In addition, the application contains a list and an interactive map of all recycling yards and green islands in Zagreb.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.