03.01.2025.
In accordance with the legislation, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund has adopted new decisions on the fees that will be paid to authorised collectors and treatment operators in the system of special categories of waste. The Ordinance on packaging and waste packaging, single-use plastic products and fishing gear containing plastic, the Ordinance on the management of special categories of waste in the system of the Fund's, which refers to waste tires, vehicles, oils, batteries and accumulators, as well as electrical and electronic waste, and the Regulation on waste management dee and deposit return fee, prescribe that the Fund determines the amount of the fee to cover the costs of collection and treatment of this waste. These new cost calculations include all relevant waste management costs, which will be periodically updated and adjusted to market conditions by the Fund.Taking into account the experience so far, the conducted public consultation and the comments of the stakeholders in the system, the Fund took into account the fair and financially sustainable optimisation of the system in determining the amount of fees, all in order to achieve the highest possible economic value of the collected waste, but also to meet the prescribed waste management goals.
In Croatia, the system of management of special categories, based on the principles of extended producer responsibility (EPR), started to be to be established in 2005 and has achieved excellent results so far. On average, about 85% of usable types of waste are collected and treated annually through the Fund's system, which represent high-quality recyclable raw material. However, the fees for authorised collectors and treatment operators have not changed for years, so in order to further improve the system and achieve the goals of a resource-efficient circular economy, they had to be redefined. In addition to the fees to be paid to authorised collectors and t recovery operators, the Fund also finances the cost of collecting and taking over recyclable municipal waste to public service providers and the entire cost of managing packaging waste collected as part of the public municipal waste collection service.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, the Fund will continue with further improvement of the system of special categories of waste in order to achieve the set goals and encourage the development of more environmentally friendly products, as well as processes that will contribute to the green transition of our economy. These changes are part of a broader strategy that emphasises the importance of the circular economy, sustainable resource management and environmental protection, and are one of the key steps on the path to an even more efficient and sustainable waste management system.
