Waste - Drivers and pressures (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

The overall generation of municipal waste has been growing in line with the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) per person, as well as with the growth of personal consumption, but is not significantly higher than the growth of population. Urbanisation has grown at a faster rate than planned, so most cities have poor urban infrastructure, especially in terms of solid waste management – 87 % of the population is concentrated in the major cities. (Second National Environmental Action Plan, 2006).

The capacity of municipal solid waste management systems will be strongly influenced by the future economic development of the country. 

According to the data of the State Statistical Office, the country’s trade deficit is 35.5% in  USD. Imports include mostly crude oil, electricity and motor vehicles, while exports are dominated by ferrous nickel, iron and steel products and clothes.

According to the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, the contribution of the waste sector to total GHG emissions ranges between 5.5 % and 7.0 %.

Figure 5 shows that GHG emissions expressed as carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent are similar to those originating from industry and much lower than those from the energy sector (Second National Communication on Climate Change, 2008).