11.09.2025.
The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, has started with projects of remediation of landfills where waste was illegally dumped in the cities of Samobor and Pazin. In this regard, representatives of the Fund and the Ministry held working meetings with the mayors of these cities, Petra Škrobot and Suzana Jašić, respectively.
"With these actions, the state is clearly sending a message that the problem of illegally dumped waste will not be left to mere chance - as soon as all legal and procedural conditions are in place, the system will react effectively in other locations, in the interest of citizens and the environment", commented the minister of environmental protection and green transition Marija Vučković upon the start of remediation activities in Samobor and Pazin.
The director of the Fund, Luka Balen, pointed out that the Ministry and the Fund had taken steps to initiate remediation activities as soon as possible, in accordance with legal processes. "Among other things, amendments to the Waste Management Plan of the Republic of Croatia for the period 2023-2028 were necessary, thus creating legal basis for the remediation of sites contaminated with waste that are on land owned by natural and legal persons. After this, the Fund published a public call intended for local government and self-government units to report illegal landfills in their area, and now, after having received feedback, we are taking further steps," said director Balen, expressing his appreciation of the willingness of Samobor and Pazin to cooperate in order to jointly solve this problem for the benefit of citizens.
The first project phase includes the development of remediation plans that will determine the type of waste, quantity, method and cost of remediation. The public procurement procedure for the development of remediation plans for the locations in Samobor and Pazin is underway, and the deadline for the submission of bids is 22 September, which will be followed by the selection of the bidder. The successful bidder will prepare a remediation plan for the mentioned locations within 60 days, which will be followed by a public procurement procedure for the contractor. The cost estimate will be known after the completion of the plan, but pursuant to the Waste Management Plan, the Fund will settle 85% of the costs, while the local self-government unit shall provide the remaining 15%. To ensure due payment of the costs, the Fund will place a lien for the benefit of the Republic of Croatia on the real estate where remediation will be carried out, up to the amount of the total costs.
Remediation in Samobor and Pazin is part of a wider state approach in cases of illegally dumped waste, especially where the polluter is known and the waste has not been removed despite inspection orders or orders of municipal wardens. As a reminder, in February the Fund, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, published a call for local self-government units to submit data on such locations. A total of 91 locations were reported, of which six - in Gospić, Poznanovac, Benkovac, Samobor, Pazin and Lovinac - have been designated as a priority for remediation and have been included in the Amendments to the 2023 Waste Management Plan of the Republic of Croatia. The Ministry and the Fund announced that remediation on other locations will start as soon as all legal preconditions are fulfilled.
