Serbia needs hazardous waste treatment facility

BELGRADE - Serbia needs a treatment facility for hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste, as inadequate waste management is one of the most serious environmental challenges for the country, stressed the participants of Monday's public debate on municipal and industrial waste management.

In addition to more than one million tons of old industrial waste generated over the years in the industrial sector, around 8.2 million tons of waste is “produced” in Serbia every year.

Out of this amount, 7.9 million tons is non-hazardous, and the remainder is hazardous waste, states the Central European Development Forum (CEDEF).

Only around 19 percent of industrial waste in Serbia is processed, while only one percent is reused for power production, despite Serbia's vast and unused potential in this sector, it was stated at the public debate.

As many as 81 percent, or 6.5 tons, of the industrial waste remains at the location where it was generated.

Director of the Environmental Protection Agency Filip Radovic underlined that it is important to create conditions for the treatment and safe disposal of hazardous waste, to build hazardous waste treatment facilities, establish the system of safe collection and management of specific waste streams, and continue the approximation of national laws to the EU regulations.

Radovic noted that with the adoption of the Law on Waste Management, the Law on Packaging and Packaging Waste, and the accompanying bylaws, a comprehensive waste management system has been established and largely harmonized with the laws and practices of the European Union.

Advisor to the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Sinisa Mitrovic stressed that the industrial waste has to...