Sustainable waste management necessary – Landfilling not the only solution

Environmental protection has been in the focus of attention in the past few months, including waste management, which is important for many activities and companies. This is supported by the fact that Serbia is on the road to opening Chapter 27, concerning the environment.

As the company Higia, which has been in the industrial cleaning business since 2004, told eKapija, companies are increasingly aware of what their legal obligations are.

– Nowadays, it's much easier to explain to the client why and how they need to manage their waste adequately. We also try to educate our clients how to separate waste, to perfect their production process so as to reduce the amount of waste they generate, how not to incur additional costs and to realize that adequate waste management is an inevitability – says Jovana Skataric, the commercial director of Higia and a waste management adviser.

The waste management system is very complex and working with companies is that much more important. As our interviewee says, there's a larger non-hazardous waste management in Serbia and it is easier to manage.

– There is a system of recycling non-hazardous waste and there is a possibility of being recycled in Serbia for most of it. However, there are categories of waste that recyclers and operators cannot solve here, because the technology is either not there, while being available globally, or the market for that kind of waste is small, making it unprofitable for anyone to deal with it. Of course, there is also the problem of inadequate sorting of waste in the spot where it is made, so if there is no separation, the amounts of waste that could be interesting to anyone are also small. Where there is a developed system of primary waste selection, the market forms itself.

There are not many hazardous waste management operators

When it comes to hazardous waste, it's a different story. As Skataric says, waste generators are still not aware that the polluter has to pay and the waste generators need to set aside money for disposing of the waste in a safe manner.

– Also, there are not many hazardous waste management operators and true treatment of hazardous waste is very limited in Serbia, so the only solution for certain categories of waste is to export them to the EU, which increases the price of the treatment, and the process of obtaining the permits is quite long too – she adds.

The landfilling of certain types of hazardous waste, such as waste which contains asbestos, for example, is possible in Serbia, but only under certain conditions and in a clearly defined way. Our interviewee points out that there are specially constructed landfills for this purpose, which would need to meet the requirements proscribed by law.

How is hazardous waste transported?

The transport of hazardous waste in Serbia is carried out in line with the ADR treaty – European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and the Law on Transport of Dangerous Goods.

– Any transporter carrying ADR goods obliges to have at least one adviser for hazardous waste transport safety. If hazardous waste which is subject to ADR regulations is transported in a tank, the vehicle needs to be certified. In other cases, when the waste is transported by trucks, packed in adequate UN-certified packaging, the vehicle does not to be certified, but both the cargo and the vehicle need to be marked in line with ADR regulations. Of course, the person driving the vehicle needs to have a certificate proving professional training for drivers of vehicles for transport of dangerous goods – Jovana Skataric explains.

Waste management needs to be team work

She believes that there need to be constant efforts to harmonize companies' operations with the existing regulations.

– Waste management needs to be team work, with operators, waste generators and state organs working together on solving problems in this field. We should use the fact that we have the possibility of adopting well tested and successful examples from other countries, where most waste is recycled or reused – eKapija's interviewee says.

She adds that Serbia should first develop primary, sustainable ways of waste management, such as prevention and minimization of waste generation, and then on reusing and recycling waste.

– It is only when all the waste management possibilities are exhausted that landfilling becomes the optimal solution – Skataric says.

Aleksandra Kekic

Higia Pančevo

Jovana Škatarić

waste management

Chapter 27

industrial cleaning

waste separation

waste management system

non hazardous waste hazardous waste

recycling non hazardous waste

primary waste selection

hazardous waste management

asbestos

transport of hazardous waste

ADR

European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road

Law on Transport of Dangerous Goods

UN certified packaging