In Novi Pazar, 750 households received a total of 1,500 bins for sorting recyclable waste, as a donation from the European Union, and within the project,, BEST Cooperation in waste management – Towards a sustainable environment”. As it was announced at the ceremonial handing over of the equipment, under the slogan “Let’s separate, recycle, preserve”, the municipalities involved in the project will be assisted by the NALED in establishing primary selection with the aim of improving the percentage of collection by 20 percent locally. In order to establish an appropriate waste management system, households were initially given two bins each – a yellow one for cans and PET packaging, and a blue one for paper and cardboard, and the project is implemented in cooperation with cross-border Montenegrin municipalities and in partnership with the Center for Ecotoxicological Testing. In addition to Novi Pazar, the municipality of Mojkovac will also receive a donation in the form of bins for waste separation, while work will be done to improve the system in the municipalities of Kolašin, Bijelo Polje and Tutin on the basis of a contract signed with the Ministry of Finance, Department for Contracting and Financing of European Union Funded Programs.
– This is significant support for the work of our public utility company. We know that the landfill is 25 kilometers from the city and that this will bring significant savings. The goal is to work on raising environmental awareness, we are also thinking about opening recycling islands for different materials, and we believe in the expansion of such projects, and that other citizens will soon receive equipment for separating waste in their homes – said the mayor of Novi Pazar, Nihat Biševac.
It is estimated that in Serbia, more than 90 percent of municipal waste is disposed of in sanitary and unsanitary landfills, where a significant, even usable waste for energy purposes, from industry ends up. Landfilling is the most unfavorable option for the environment and it is necessary to think about recycling and energy treatment of waste, in order to get closer to sustainable trends.
– Every kilogram of waste that we collect and hand over to operators does not end up in a landfill, and a kilogram of plastic is worth eight kilograms of wet waste, takes up less space, costs less and prevents self-ignition of landfills in the summer months. In 2022, the state passed the Law on the Waste Management Plan, and by 2031, local governments are expected to implement these measures, with projects like this playing a significant role – said the director for economic and financial affairs at PUC “Gradska čistoća” Novi Pazar Suad Ljajić.
Director for sustainable development in NALED Slobodan Krstović stated that Serbia should emulate countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, which are the leaders in terms of the minimum amount of waste they deposit and in which the percentage is less than 4 percent.
– When talking about packaging waste, 3.7 million tons of packaging were put on the market in Serbia in the past ten years, of which about 61 percent ended up in landfills or in nature. Cardboard and paper are recycled most successfully, and plastic and glass are the least recycled. In Serbia, the construction of six regional landfills is underway, and in parallel with that, the development of primary selection is underway, and we will look at every opportunity to help with additional equipment and fundraising – concluded Krstović.
