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Serbia Faces Dangerous Waste Problem
Belgrade | 10 August 2009 |
Zastava's Factory in Kragujevac
Five million tons of hazardous waste are produced every year, the daily reported, citing data from 2008.
The biggest producers of dangerous waste include: thermal power stations, smelters, and the chemical, mining and food industries.
Blic reports that up to 62 per cent of temporary stocks of dangerous waste are stored or disposed of in a manner that does not meet regulations.
Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Oliver Dulic, launched the ministry's 'Let's clean up Serbia' campaign in March, arguing that Serbia is filthy and polluted and that its citizens lack awareness on environmental issues.
He has identified inadequate waste management, caused by poor infrastructure development, as one of the most serious threats to the country's environment. Bad habits and insufficient care for the environment also contribute, he said.
According to a poll conducted by the Center for Free Elections and Democracy in Serbia, used in the ministry’s campaign, 38 per cent of citizens are interested in ecological issues. One in ten is ready to act, while 23 per cent of people recognise ecological problems.
“If we all deposit waste in proper places, such as trashcans, containers, regular landfills; if we separate and recycle waste; if we realise that waste is not trash, but a resource; we can make huge savings, create new workplaces and develop new eco-industries,” Dulic said at the campaign's launch in March.
Companies, such as the Kragujevac-based car factory Zastava, export dangerous waste to EU countries where it is destroyed.
In implementing the Law on Waste Management and Law on Packaging Waste, passed in May, Dulic's ministry has enforced the management of dangerous waste in accordance with EU regulations, the daily reports.
In addition, a national programme for environment protection is in the final phase of preparations and will establish the regulatory framework for managing dangerous waste in the next ten years.
