Waste - State and impacts (Croatia)

In order to remove and prevent certain detrimental environmental impacts caused by inappropriate waste management practices, particularly on the dump sites which are not environmentally sound, numerous activities have been initiated and completed and significant results accomplished. Setting up of a strategic/planning and legislative framework, capacity building of relevant authorities and development of the information system resulted in improvement of the existing system of separate waste collection and waste recycling/recovery. New systems have been developed for management of special types of waste (including construction of recycling/recovery facilities). Such developments enabled remediation and closure of landfills and illegal dump sites, remediation of sites contaminated by hazardous waste, all in line with the EU regulations applicable to the waste management. Intensive preparations for construction of a certain number of waste management centres are under way.

Quantities and disposal of municipal waste

Although there is growing awareness of the need to avoid and reduce arising waste, the quantities of municipal waste (household waste and similar waste from manufacturing and services) continue to grow and in 2008 amounted to 1,788,311 tonnes or annually 403 kg per capita (1.1 kg per day).

Coverage of population and municipalities/towns by organised municipal waste collection increased from 86% in 2004 to 93% in 2008, which fulfilled the quantitative target for 2015 set by the Waste Management Strategy of the Republic of Croatia [1].

Out of a total of 1,788,311 tonnes of municipal waste in 2008, 86% was mixed municipal waste (1,541,053 tonnes). Most of the municipal and a portion of process waste is landfilled.

The amount of separately collected types of municipal waste is continually growing and in 2008 it accounted for 14% (247,252 tonnes). However, only part of this quantity ends up being recovered while the rest is landfilled.

Packaging waste

Return and/or collection of used disposable PET packaging is organised through points of sale against the payment of refund to consumers pursuant to the Ordinance on Packaging and Packaging Waste [4]. The quantities collected are steadily increasing in line with the trend of growing quantities of packaging on the market.

Table 1. Amount of collected packaging waste, 2006-2008 (t)

Source: Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, http://www.fzoeu.hr/hrv/index.asp

End-of-life vehicles

Number of end-of-life vehicles has been growing rapidly during the last ten yeas, and an estimate for 2009 was 97,957 road vehicles, and 65,580 passenger cars, which causes increase in annual quantity of the end-of life vehicles.

Pursuant to the Ordinance on End-of-Life Vehicle Management [5], collection licence holders reported 17,935 t of collected vehicles, which is a considerable increase compared to the data for 2008 and 2007 when the weight of collected end-of-life vehicle of vehicles did not exceed 8,000 t.

Electrical and electronic waste

Following the adoption of the Ordinance on the Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Appliances and Equipment (6), the EE waste management system was established following contemporary European standards and requirements.

In 2009, 13,521.94 t of EE waste was collected and 13,613.53 t treated. During the first year of the Ordinance enforcement, annual EE waste collection rate was 1.29 kg per capita, and in 2009 it increased to 3.05 kg per capita. The data indicate that there is a significant improvement in functioning of the introduced system and that the results are getting closer to the annual quantity stipulated by the Ordinance of 4 kg of EE waste collected per capita.

Waste oil

The Ordinance on Waste Oil Management [7] has established a system for waste lubricating and edible oils collection for recovery and/or disposal. Since the Ordinance has been passed, a positive change in waste oil management was noticed. Licence holders deliver almost complete quantity of lubricating oil collected for thermal treatment, while waste edible oils are recovered as raw material in biodiesel production.

Waste batteries and accumulators

The Ordinance on of Waste Batteries and Accumulators Management [8] set up a system for collection, treatment and high level of recycling and controlled recovery and/or disposal of the waste battery and accumulator treatment residuals. The data for 2007. and 2008. indicate the increase in quantity of collected and treated waste batteries and accumulators, and consequently a considerable decrease in export of this type of waste.

Waste tyres

The Ordinance on Waste Tyre Management [9] sets up a system for waste tyres management. An increase of almost 30% in waste tyres collection and almost 60% in recovery was recorded in the period 2006-2008. Since 2007, it has been allowed to use up to 30% of collected quantities of waste types in energy production, while the remaining quantities are recovered. In 2008, 76% of total waste tyres collected was recovered.

Ordinances regulating in detail management of other types of waste have been passed, including: construction waste, asbestos-containing waste, medical waste, waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCBs and PCTs), waste from prospecting and exploitation of ores, wastewater treatment plants sludge management and its use in agriculture, and titanium-dioxide production waste.