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2 clusters · 10 sources · 28 days · First seen · Last updated

Waste management and recycling challenges in the Balkans

Overview

Waste management and recycling efforts in the Balkan region are facing significant operational and regulatory hurdles.

In Croatia, agronomy professor Neven Voća has highlighted a shortage of modern composting facilities for bio-waste. He noted that existing legislative and administrative frameworks, including “very restrictive” measures from the State Inspectorate, have limited the capacity of composting sites. These regulations, combined with inaccurate capacity calculations by the Ministry, risk sending separated bio-waste to landfills or abroad rather than utilizing it as an agricultural resource.

Further complicating regional recycling is the issue of waste quality. While facilities in Podgorica, Montenegro, are expanding capacity to process items like waste tires, glass, and paper for export, sorting plants in Rijeka, Croatia, are struggling. The Rijeka facility reports that high contamination levels—with impurities reaching up to 81 percent in certain bins—are significantly reducing sorting efficiency and increasing costs.

Entities

IKEA · Podgorica Landfill · Rijeka Sorting Plant · Whirlpool · GP Deponija

Timeline

  1. 20 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 10 sources
    Waste management facilities face varying recycling challenges in the Balkans

    While Podgorica's landfill expands tire and glass recycling capacities, Rijeka's sorting plant struggles with high contamination rates in waste bins, slowing processing and increasing costs.

  2. about 2 months ago

    [POLITICS] 5 sources
    Croatia's bio‑waste recycling hampered by scarce compost facilities, says agronomy professor

    Professor Neven Voća says Croatia lacks modern compost plants and restrictive rules risk bio‑waste ending in landfills, urging expansion of advanced facilities.

Sources

24sata.hr · bosnainfo.ba · dnevnik.hr · dnevno.hr · ikot.ph · index.hr · metropolitan.si · novilist.hr · Tportal.hr · zagreb.info