Waste Management in
Republic of Serbia
Aleksandar Vesić Bsc
Assistant Minister
Sector for managing and planning
Institutions in Waste Management
• Ministry of Environmental Protection
• Secretariat for Environmental Protection and
Sustainable development of Vojvodina Province
• Local – municipal authority
• Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
• Environment Protection Fund
• Recycling Agency
• Laboratories for waste characterisation
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
National Waste Management Strategy
• Adopted in 2003
• A basic document providing conditions for the rational
and sustainable waste management
• Main goals: orientation of waste management for the
next period, short-term and long-term period, in
compliance with EU directives
• Main principles: sustainable development, regional
approach to waste management, precaution, “the
polluter pays”, waste management hierarchy,
implementation of the best practical environmental
options (BPEO), producer’s responsibility
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Waste Management Options
according to the Strategy
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Waste reduction at source
Reuse
Recycling
Composting
Anaerobic Digestion
Waste Incineration
Other methods for treatment of waste
Waste disposal
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Progress in the policy preparation
• National Sustainable Development Strategy
(public debate is on going)
• Strategy for sustainable use of natural resources and
goods (first draft is prepared)
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Waste Management Legal Framework
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Law on Environmental Protection (2004)
Law on SEA (2004)
Law on EIA (2004)
Law on IPPC (2004)
Law on ratification of Basel convention (1999)
Law on waste handling (1996)
Law on transportation of hazardous substances (1999)
Regulations on determining the location and operations of waste
disposal sites (1992)
Law on communal activities (1998)
Law on ratification on Kyoto Protocol (2007)
Regulation on type of pollution, criteria for calculation of cost
recovery for environmental pollution, amount and the manner of
calculation of fees (2005)
Regulation on parameters and criteria for return, release and
reduction of paying charges for environmental pollution (2005)
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Waste Management Legal Framework
• Draft Law on Waste Management in compliance with the
EU Directives
(in procedure for adoption)
• Draft Law on packaging and packaging waste
(in procedure for adoption)
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Current situation in municipal waste
management
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Waste generation in Serbia is 0.8 kg/per capita/day
300 kg/year, 2003 (according to the National
Strategy)
SEPA – report for 2006: 1.37 kg/per capita/day (500
kg/year)
50.5 % of municipal waste is collected; Rural areas
are not covered by organized waste collection
Public Utility Companies – responsible for waste
collection and transport
Waste disposal without any pre-treatment
There are about 160 official landfills (dumpsites) but
only one proper sanitary landfill in operation at the
moment
Dumpsites are often subject to uncontrolled burning
Insufficient number of containers
No organized recycling system at the moment
Low level of public awareness about waste
management
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Municipal waste composition
Non ferrous metal
Texstile
2%
Ferous metal
4%
4%
Organic waste
30%
Plastic
5%
Paper and cardboard
26%
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Other
21%
Rubber
1%
Glass
7%
Required Capacities for Municipal
Waste Management
According to the Strategy:
• 29 regional sanitary landfills
• 44 transfer stations
• 17 recycling centres
• 7 composting facilities
• 4 incinerators
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Resent activities in Ministry
• In 2004 and 2005 involved in investing in making project
documentation for construction of regional sanitary
landfills and rehabilitation of existing landfills
• Environment Protection Fund continuing in financing of
technical documentation for construction of regional
sanitary landfills
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Results
Construction of 4 regional sanitary landfills:
• Kikinda (Ada, Zitiste, Nova Crnja, Novi Becej, Becej)
• Nova Varos (Priboj, Prijepolje, Sjenica)
• Uzice (Bajina Basta, Pozega, Arilje, Cajetina, Kosjeric, Lucani,
Ivanjica, Cacak)
• Prokuplje (Kursumlija, Blace, Zitoradja)
In preparation is construction of 5 regional sanitary
landfills:
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Leskovac (Lebane, Medvedja, Bojnik, Crna Trava, Vlasotince)
Pirot (Dimitrovgrad, Bela Palanka, Babusnica)
Sremska Mitrovica (Sabac)
Vrsac (Bela Crkva, Alibunar, Plandiste)
Smederevo (Pozarevac, Kovin)
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Urgent actions
• Further harmonization of legislation with the EU
Directives
• Implementation of the Environmental and Sustainable
development policies
• Address of hot spot locations contaminated with
hazardous waste
• Construction of regional sanitary landfills
• Biodegradable waste redirection from the landfills
• High potential for waste recycling
• Treatment and disposal facility for hazardous waste
• Address of past pollution liability in the privatisation
process
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Urgent actions
• High potential for waste recycling
• Increasing of recycling rate according to the National
Waste Management Strategy and National
Environmental Strategy
• Separation of packaging waste
• Establishing of recycling centers for packaging waste
• Treatment of electronic waste
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Current situation in hazardous waste
management
• There are no reliable data on the volumes of
hazardous waste generated by industry
• No any landfill for hazardous waste in Serbia
• No treatment of hazardous waste in Serbia
• Hazardous waste is keeping in the temporary
storages (some of which operate for several
decades) on the industrial sites
• Enforcement of IPPC Law should improve the
situation
• Past pollution liability in privatisation process
• Hot spot locations
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Required urgent actions
• Establishing of cost-effective and environmentally sound
solutions for each waste stream (PCB waste, POPs,
pesticides, waste oil, end-of-life vehicle, fluorescent
tubes, asbestos, batteries and accumulators, chemicals
etc.)
• Construction of hazardous waste landfill and treatment
facilities
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Current situation in healthcare waste
management
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No segregation of infectious waste in the hospitals
No treatment of infectious waste
No specialized company for collection and proper
transport of healthcare waste (collection and transport
is provided by Public utility company which is
responsible for municipal waste)
No specialized vehicles for transport of infectious
healthcare waste
Disposal of infectious waste on the official municipal
landfills (dumpsites)
There are on going projects financed by EAR on
supplying of 78 autoclaves for treatment of healthcare
waste in the hospitals of Serbia and technical
assistance for national healthcare waste management
plan and regulations on healthcare waste which are
expected under the Draft law on Waste Management
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Required urgent actions
• Separation of waste at its origin, proper handling,
packaging, labelling, inactivation, and temporary
storage (duration and conditions) in health care
facilities,
• Proper transportation of healthcare waste to its
final destination for destruction and disposal,
• Adequate treatment for each category of
healthcare waste,
• Responsibilities of public health authorities,
producers of healthcare waste and waste disposal
companies.
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia
Department for waste management
Zoran Tešić, Head of Department
zoran.tesic@ekoserb.sr.gov.yu
Dragoljub Bijelovic, Chief of Unit for Industrial and Communal Waste
dragoljub.bjelovic@ekoserb.sr.gov.yu
Radmila Šerović, Chief of Unit for Medical,
Biological and other waste streams
radmila.serovic@ekoserb.sr.gov.yu
Ministry of Environmental Protection
of Republic of Serbia