Waste Management: Let Go of Plans for Half-Empty Landfills

The amount of separately collected municipal waste in Croatia is increasing: two years ago it amounted to 1,844,382 tons, the highest since data collection on municipal waste began (from 1995 to 2022). This is 474 kilograms per capita and less than the European Union average of 527 kilograms, but neither waste separation nor recycling is yet at the level it should be, except in a few cities and counties. According to data from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development for 2022 (the report for 2023 is not yet complete), two years ago, 844,387 tons of municipal waste were collected separately, or 46 percent, while in Croatia, 34 percent is recycled and 56 percent is disposed of.

In some parts of Croatia, waste is separated more diligently than in others. The leaders in this regard are the people of Međimurje, Primorje, and Gorski Kotar, making Međimurje County and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County the most successful in waste separation; their rate of separately collected waste is 50 percent or more. They are followed by Varaždin, Koprivnica-Križevci, Osijek-Baranja, and Istria counties. The lowest rates of separately collected waste are found in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Lika-Senj County, and Split-Dalmatia County, each with only three percent.

Recycling Goals

National and European legislation does not set targets for the separate collection of municipal waste, but it does for recycling. According to the Waste Management Act, Croatia must recycle at least 50 percent of waste, but in 2022, only 34 percent, or 630,882 tons, was recycled. Given the current situation, it is unlikely that the goal of recycling at least 55 percent of total collected municipal waste will be met by 2025. This rate is expected to increase over the years, reaching 60 percent by 2030 and 65 percent by 2035.

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Additionally, by 2035, waste disposal must be reduced to ten percent. Municipalities and cities are responsible for municipal waste management, which primarily requires them to provide citizens with education on waste prevention, reuse, and recycling, as well as to acquire the necessary equipment, vehicles, and facilities for separate waste collection and recycling, which is financed by EU funds and enabled through public calls from the Ministry. The intention is to reduce waste disposal to landfills that must be rehabilitated and closed after the opening of waste management centers. The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development allows local government units and legal entities to use EU funds for equipment and facilities for waste separation and recycling through public calls, and national funds are also used for waste management infrastructure. The Ministry emphasizes that a comprehensive waste management system cannot be established without processing mixed municipal waste.

According to the Waste Management Plan of the Republic of Croatia for 2023 – 2028, eleven waste management centers are planned in Croatia, of which only three are operational, and one has begun trial operations. Four waste management centers are under construction and should be completed by 2026 – 2027, while documentation is being prepared for the remaining three.

The Best in Collection and Processing

In the story of waste management, there are also very good news, even better than those from other EU member states, coming from Međimurje County. The highest rate of separately collected waste was achieved in the municipality of Belica in Međimurje, reaching as high as 74 percent, surpassing the results of highly developed EU countries. Excellent results were also achieved in the city of Prelog, where the rate of separately collected waste is 66 percent. In Međimurje County, there is only one active landfill, which is for non-hazardous waste, located in Totovec. Its use began in 1974, and after the completion of rehabilitation, the landfill obtained the status of a compliant waste landfill in 2015.

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In Međimurje County, plans are underway to develop a project for closing this landfill as soon as conditions related to the construction and commencement of operations of the Regional Waste Management Center Piškornica are secured. The Office of the County Prefect of Međimurje County states that the established waste management system in their county continues to achieve the best results in the separate collection and processing of useful waste in Croatia, but they also warn that achieving a circular economy at the national level will require the long-term involvement of all stakeholders, from the state, counties, municipalities, and cities to companies and citizens, who face a significant challenge in waste management – a shortage of labor and supply chains.

Educational Measures

While state institutions are still compiling statistics on separately collected municipal waste for 2023, Varaždin already has this data. Last year, 13,676 tons of municipal waste were collected in the Varaždin area, which is 312.36 kilograms per capita and about twelve kilograms more than in 2022, but still much less than the Croatian average. According to data for 2022, Varaždin was among the top forty local government units by the rate of separately collected waste, and among the largest Croatian cities, it ranked in the top ten. Since the rate of separate waste collection increased in 2023 compared to 2022, the city administration hopes to maintain one of the leading positions in waste management in Croatia. Moreover, the City of Varaždin will not be obligated to pay the incentive fee for reducing the amount of mixed municipal waste for the previous year.

The percentage of waste for recycling in Varaždin reached 51.77 percent in 2023, while the percentage of mixed municipal waste fell to 48.23 percent. Since the amount of mixed municipal waste has fallen below 50 percent, Varaždin does not have to pay the incentive fee. This fee is paid by local government units based on the decision of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. It is an educational measure that encourages the implementation of measures to reduce the share of mixed municipal waste in municipal waste. For example, in 2021, the penalty per ton for exceeding the limit of collected mixed municipal waste was two hundred kuna. The success of the City of Varaždin in waste management is also followed by Varaždin County, which ranks third with a rate of 39 percent of separately collected waste and is one of five Croatian counties that produce less than three hundred kilograms of municipal waste per capita per year.

Problems from the Sea

However, not all counties are doing so well. Dubrovnik-Neretva County, for example, is struggling with significant problems in waste disposal. Its geographical location is a complicating factor that significantly increases the cost of waste transport, especially from the islands, compared to other Croatian counties. Additionally, companies that recycle certain categories of waste are mostly located in northern Croatia, making waste transport there significantly increase the cost of waste management for local government units in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. A major problem is the illegal landfills that exist in several places throughout the county, resulting from irresponsible waste disposal, mostly construction and bulky waste, by irresponsible individuals. The county is working on their removal and restoring these locations to their original state, which further burdens existing resources.

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This does not work in its favor, nor does the significant seasonal burden of waste generated by predominantly hospitality and tourism activities during the summer. Moreover, there is a special problem with marine waste that did not originate in the area of Dubrovnik-Neretva County but is carried by sea currents. During the autumn and winter, due to strong southern winds and heavy rainfall, sudden pollution of the coastal area of Dubrovnik-Neretva County with large amounts of floating solid waste is becoming increasingly common. Analysis of the collected waste has shown that it is mostly cross-border waste from the southern Adriatic due to the exposure of Dubrovnik-Neretva County to sea currents that run along the coast from Otranto towards the northern Adriatic (Albania, Montenegro, Greece), but also partly from the Neretva River. In Dubrovnik-Neretva County, they believe that addressing this complex problem needs to be elevated to an international level, as unilateral efforts by county local government units cannot curb pollution from cross-border floating large waste.

Good and Bad Data

Nevertheless, there is also good news from that county: the first composting facility in Metković, the first in the Dalmatia region, will soon be operational, which will increase the rate of separately collected bio-waste in that county. The construction of a waste management center in Lučino Razdolje in the municipality of Dubrovacko Primorje is also in preparation. This center will have to dispose of and process 40 percent of mixed municipal waste from the total waste produced in the county, while the obligation for separation and recycling is 60 percent for local government units. The center is in the design phase of the main building, which includes six transfer stations. Dubrovnik-Neretva County has also established a Waste Management Agency, which is responsible for implementing the project of the center, i.e., coordinating activities related to securing the land necessary for the implementation of the project, obtaining the necessary permits, concluding agreements on waste takeover with all local government units in the county, and constructing the center and transfer stations.

Zagreb also has significant problems with waste disposal and separation, but we did not receive a response to our inquiry. However, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Environmental Protection from 2022, among the ten largest Croatian cities, Zagreb ranks seventh in waste separation with a rate of 28 percent, while Osijek is first with 51.2 percent. No response has been received from Osijek either.