The Minister of Environment and Green Transition Marija Vučković today presented the waste remediation plan in Gospić, according to which none of the four planned phases should last longer than 13 months. It is estimated that there are about 44 thousand tons of hazardous and non-hazardous waste at the site.
The remediation will be carried out in several phases. In addition to the temporary covering of buried waste, the first phase will remediate about 4,500 tons of bulk hazardous waste near the silo, the second phase will address about 650 tons of non-hazardous waste, and the third phase will involve nearly 33 thousand tons of buried hazardous and non-hazardous waste mixed with soil and stone in an as yet unknown ratio. The fourth phase will cover about 6,000 tons of waste in existing facilities and the silo.
The temporary covering of buried waste is already underway. The work will cost 270 thousand euros, and the deadline for its implementation is 30 days.
The deadline for the first phase is one year. A contractor has been selected to incinerate the waste outside Croatia, and the job is worth 8.8 million euros. This is a consortium of bidders CE-ZA-R, C.I.A.K., SAUBERMACHER-TS, KEMIS-TERMOCLEAN, and KEMOKOP.
In the second phase, about 650 tons of non-hazardous waste in bags will be incinerated in cement plants in Našice and Koromačno. The deadline for completion is 45 days, and the cost is estimated at around 390 thousand euros.
For the first and second phases, no environmental impact assessment or waste management permits are required.
The most demanding phase worth about 40 million euros
For the third phase, which involves nearly 33 thousand tons of buried waste at a depth of up to 2.9 meters, the procurement process is currently being prepared. Vučković stated that priority is given to remediation that includes pre-treatment on site, i.e., excavation of waste, mechanical separation, and characterization, as well as separate handling of individual fractions.
Pre-treatment would be carried out exclusively in a closed system, with monitoring of air quality and groundwater, noise and soil, as well as control of possible leakage and leachate, waste dispersion, and extraordinary events.
According to the minister, such a model would allow for greater control over waste flows, the implementation deadline would be 13 months, and the cost is estimated at around 40 million euros. The alternative is excavation without pre-treatment, where the final disposal of waste would take place outside Croatia.
The fourth phase involves the disposal of waste in existing facilities and the silo. The job could be completed within 12 months from the start of work, and the estimated value of the remediation is six million euros.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction, and State Property Branko Bačić announced that this week the covering of buried waste will begin, and next week the removal of 650 tons of non-hazardous waste.
