12.06.2026.
At the 13th International Conference on Environmental Protection in Poreč, which was opened by the director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Luka Balen, key steps for accelerating the waste management system in Croatia were presented. The participants were also addressed by experts from the Fund - Aleksandra Čilić, Maja Feketić and Zvonimir Majić - who announced new calls for co-financing, emphasised the importance of power plants, and clarified new regulatory obligations.Aleksandra Čilić, the head of the Environmental Protection Sector, presented the possibilities of co-financing in a lecture and a panel on the experiences of cities. The Fund has already published calls for the remediation of contaminated sites and the transport of waste from islands to the mainland, with the support of the Ministry of Regional Development, providing almost 100 percent of the funds. A call for waste prevention and separate collection is being prepared, focused primarily on biowaste (containers and composters), but also on alternative fuel utility vehicles and waste meters. At the end of the year, calls are planned for the modernisation of sorting plants with advanced plastic recognition and for the education of citizens. Čilić also announced one hundred percent co-financing of the renovation of family houses for citizens at risk of energy poverty.
Maja Feketić, the head of the Sector for EU Funds, said that waste management centres (CCE) are the "crown of the system". Of the 11 planned centres, four have been built, the fifth is about to open, three are under construction, while tenders are being prepared for the remaining three. She emphasised that without power plants, the EU goals by 2035, i.e. reducing waste disposal to 10 percent, cannot be achieved. Therefore, the Fund and Šibenik are co-financing the documentation for the power plant that would cover central and southern Dalmatia, and the Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem Counties are jointly planning their own plants with the Šagulje WMC. Feketić also emphasized the importance of the potential construction of a power plant in Zagreb, noting that over 500 such modern plants are already operating in Europe.
Zvonimir Majić, the head of the Sector for the Management of Special Categories of Waste, informed the participants about the new regulatory and practical obligations in the packaging waste system, which will come into force on 1 July. He also announced the upcoming call for the purchase of bottle counting devices in recycling yards, which will further facilitate and bring the DRS system closer to citizens.
