10.07.2023.
Representatives of the Fund participated in the theme meeting of the County Assembly of Split-Dalmatia County on waste management and WMC Lećevica.The introductory address was delivered by deputy director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund Mirko Budiša, underlining the importance of systematic waste management in achieving environmental goals, the most important of which is the establishment of a circular economy. "In June, the Waste Management Plan 2023 – 2028 was adopted, setting even more ambitious targets for reuse and repair or products, meaning recovery by recycling. By 2025, 55% of the municipal waste mass should be recycled, 60% by 2030, and as much as 65% by 2035," said deputy Budiša, adding that in Croatia about 32% of waste had been recycled thus far, predominantly in the northern parts of the country. "A significant increase in recovery is a must, as it is a prerequisite for efficient separate waste collection. In the area of Split-Dalmatia County, numerous projects with to this end have already been implemented or are underway – from the procurement of municipal equipment to the construction of civic amenity sites, transfer stations, and a waste management centre,” said Budiša.
To the councillors’ questions regarding Lećevica, Budiša replied that the project itself was a complex and challenging feat, handled with maximum expertise: “The concept of Lećevica does not differ in any way from the systems used by the most developed countries in Europe that recycle and recover over 90 percent of waste – separation in combination with waste-to-energy systems,” he concluded.
During the presentation of waste management projects in Split-Dalmatia County, Budiša mentioned 26.7 million euros that the Fund invested in the remediation of various landfills and another 42.8 million euros that were withdrawn from the EU for the remediation of Karepovac. EU funds were also used to co-finance the purchase of 117,391 containers for paper, plastic, glass, biowaste and recyclable waste, as well as the construction of 14 civic amenity sites, 6 plants for the treatment / recycling of construction waste, the procurement of municipal vehicles and a series of informative and educational activities. "Information and education are crucial for sustainable waste management because everything begins and ends with the decision of the individual," Budiša said.
In order for people to have the opportunity to collect waste separately, their local units need to motivate them and also provide them with the appropriate infrastructure, for which they often use the Fund’s programmes or EU funds, so all attendees were interested in hearing about the 2023 programmes. Aleksandra Čilić, head of the Environmental Protection Sector, presented programmes in the field of environment and nature protection, with an emphasis on the 8 currently open calls. Head of the Sector for EU Funds, Maja Feketić, announced financing programmes for the national component of EU projects pointing out that calls for food waste prevention projects were currently opened, as well as the calls for co-financing the development of pilot projects related to the exploitation of the energy potential of waste as a resource.
After that, the head of Intermediate Body level 2, Sanja Jelačić, presented activities and public calls under the National Recovery Plan, announcing the financing scheme for the establishment of reuse centres, facilities for the treatment and recycling of construction and bulky waste, and the construction and /or procurement of equipment to encourage recycling.
