Ćorić expects Croatia to have seven more waste management centers by 2023

This year is crucial for building waste management infrastructure and environmental protection, emphasized Minister of Environment and Energy Tomislav Ćorić on Monday while opening a workshop at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce titled “Preparation of the application for the public call for expressions of interest for the procurement of containers for separate waste collection,” aimed at local government units and companies.

“A whole series of tenders will be announced this year. In 2016, waste collection was at 27 percent, and the plan is to achieve 50 percent of collected waste by 2020. Building infrastructure through this tender and the tenders that will follow is a prerequisite for us to reach these goals,” Ćorić emphasized.

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This is the first workshop for the procurement of containers for separate waste collection, the tender lasts until May 20, and workshops will also be held in Rijeka, Split, and Osijek.

Ćorić believes that local government units will be ready by the beginning of next year, and when asked whether there would be sanctions for those who do not provide containers, he replied that sanctions are not foreseen.

“All local government units are aware that they need to provide containers, as this is the only way they can comply with the waste management plans they themselves adopted,” he explained.

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Regarding waste management centers, Ćorić stated that their construction is a long-term process, which is much more complex and complicated than procuring containers or building recycling yards.

Currently, two waste management centers have been built in Croatia, and there will be seven more, says Ćorić, who believes that this process will be completed by 2023, when Croatia’s financial perspective ends.

The Director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Dubravko Ponoš, expressed satisfaction that the complex process of container procurement has begun and stated that their goal is to relieve local government units by simplifying procedures and implementing a unified public procurement process.

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The head of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Aleksandra Ćilić, says that the funds for the procurement of containers have been secured by the Ministry of Environment and Energy through the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Cohesion, and 85 percent of the investment will be co-financed by the European Cohesion Fund.