Landfills as most expensive form of waste treatment - resources should be directed to waste collecting and recycling processes

Landfills are the most expensive form of waste treatment. Serbia currently has 164 officially registered landfills, while the construction of another 22-29 new ones is in the pipeline. European experts claim that the number of landfills that Serbia plans to have is much too big and that the resources should be used for investments in waste collecting and recycling processes instead. That is the conclusion from the recycling waste market situation report, which was ordered by the USAID Serbia Competitiveness Project.

The Law on Waste Management stipulates that each municipality must develop its own municipal plan of waste management, after which the municipalities must be organized into regions (which can differ from those defined in the 2003 Strategy) and prepare a regional plan of waste management on the basis of local plans. The aim is that the municipalities be enabled to plan the management of its own waste in accordance with the Law. The municipalities are given certain number of options such as to keep the existing structure, to enter a strategic partnership agreement for waste management, to form local public-private partnerships, or to choose any combination of aforementioned options. The deadline for submission of regional plans is May 23, 2010. According to the 2009 Strategy, total of 25 regions are organized.

For the waste collecting and disposal activities, many municipalities will chose a private strategic partner for waste management based on the model of public-private partnership, which means that the municipality will own 20% of a newly formed joint venture, while 80% will be in private possession. The resources provided by municipalities include facilities, vehicles, containers and infrastructure, while remaining 80% of resources will be invested by a private partner in the new equipment and means.

The findings from the report point to the existence of possibilities for waste management and recycling in private sector. At the moment, 97% of waste in Serbia is at landfills, which is the least economic and ecologically justified option for waste management. Austria recycles 97% of all waste, while only 3% is at landfills in that country - completely opposite to Serbia.

The operators engaged in recycling must pay a fee to enter landfills, which is definitely not a stimulus in this field. That problem can be resolved by means of primary selection that will reduce the costs of side entrance by making it possible for the operators to collect waste before it reaches the landfill. The costs of entrance to a landfill are covered by the operator, while the income from recycling is shared with the municipality. The Law will also stipulate separation of funds, which points to zealous resolving of this problem.

The Environment Protection Fund (Eco-Fund) is responsible for funding the priority environment protection projects with the budget of about EUR 30m in 2010 (Croatian annual budget for the same purpose exceeds EUR 150m). Direct investments in private recycling sector have, so far, been limited, but the general opinion is that the investments will grow with the introduction of the "manufacturer pays" eco-tax.

The report, which is available in English and Serbian language on http://www.compete.rs/files/Reciklaza_otpada_0.pdf, also includes an assessment of the private sector engaged in recycling in Serbia, which is based on 77 visits to the locations and interviews with key participants who perform all the phases of the recycling process with all available raw materials. The assessment was carried out in association with Serbia-based NGO Treehouse.

This report elaborates on the possibilities and obstacles to the development of recycling business in Serbia and includes the views of all relevant participants, the Government of Serbia and other national actors and initiatives, municipal authorities and public utility companies, private sector participants who cooperate with eleven sub-sectors of processing various materials and raw materials and relevant development programmes and donors.