30.03.2022.
Today, the Waste management group of the Croatian Chamber of Economy organised a conference where the Fund presented the activities planned to be implemented this year, aimed at enhancing the waste management system. The director of the Fund, Siniša Kukić, expressed his pleasure with the number of participants at the conference and pointed out good cooperation the Fund had with utility companies from across Croatia.“We’re trying to identify the needs of each utility company and specific challenges they are facing in the town and municipalities where they provide services. Based on the insights and requirements in the field, we try to develop our public calls and calls for proposals,” said director Kukić. He added that the Fund was planning to make available approx. 300 million kunas for projects to which utility companies would be able to apply either directly or through the units of local self-government where they provided services.
The presentation about the utility infrastructure co-financing options and other novelties in the system of management of special waste categories was held by two heads of sectors at the Fund – Aleksandra Čilić and Zvonimir Majić.
The head of the sector Čilić pointed out that in cooperation with utility companies, the large EU financed project for the purchase of containers for the separate collection of waste was successfully completed, and the majority of containers had already been distributed to the citizens. She also emphasised the assistance the Fund provided to utility companies in the areas struck by the earthquake and commended the solidarity of other utility companies which, in accordance with their resources, helped their colleagues in the field. She announced that most of last year’s programmes would continue this year. “In February, the public call for remediation of dumpsites was launched, and the call for the removal of car wreckages from islands. I would like to appeal to utility companies on the islands to report the locations where car wreckages have been discarded so that we can have them removed from the countryside,” said Čilić.
The head of the Sector for special categories of waste Zvonimir Majić pointed out that the Fund had a well-established system for the collection and recovery of end-of-life vehicles, and that the vehicles collected in such eco-drives were disposed of by licensed recovery operators. He explained that the activities the Fund would implement pursuant to the Act on Waste Management were aimed at improving the system for the management of special waste categories. He added that the systems such as EE waste management, waste tyres, end-of-life vehicles and waste packaging in the deposit system were achieving set goals. For some categories, the recycling capacities for the separately collected waste streams should be increased and enhanced, so during the year the Fund will launch a public call for these activities.
The head of the sector Majić said that, pursuant to the legal provisions, councils for special categories of waste were founded as special advisory bodies to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Fund. The councils consist of different stakeholders who put forward recommendations and proposals regarding the measures in the systems of special waste categories and the secondary raw materials market.
The state secretary at the Ministry Mile Horvat said that the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development was intensively working on new implementing regulations, underlining that an increase in the separate collection of waste was the trend recorded in the last few years. He said that apart from the national resources of the Fund, waste management projects would also qualify for financing under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
