07.07.2020.
“Thanks to Kaštijun, Istria was one of the first Croatian counties to apply the high standards in waste management. Despite the initial challenges in its functioning, the centre has been built and is operating according to all professional rules and permits”, said Director Kukić.
He was informed about the occasional occurrence of bad smell in the previous year, which must have been unpleasant for the citizens living in the vicinity. Director Kukić explained that the cause was not poor technology nor unprofessional management of the centre, but larger quantities of waste due to the great number of tourists, exceeding the quantities for which the centre was originally dimensioned. With such large waste quantities and extremely hot summer temperatures, it was impossible to fully stabilise the waste, regretfully resulting in malodour.
In order to resolve that, the Fund and line ministry for environmental protection provided an additional HRK 12.6m, and the works to optimise the centre are nearly finished. Two additional drying boxes have been built that will allow for longer biological drying and better inerting of waste before the final disposal.
County mayor Radin expressed his satisfaction with today’s working meeting with the director of the Fund and his visit to the plant. “We had the opportunity to see in person the situation after optimisation of the plant, and to indicate the problems in the disposal of refuse-derived fuel. We will continue with active cooperation at the level of Istria County, Istrian local self-government units and the Fund regarding Kaštijun and the new waste management system,” said County mayor.
Director Kukić commented that the works on the optimisation of the centre would further improve the quality of its operation, saying he was satisfied that Kaštijun would be an example of the best practice in the functioning for all future centres that are being or are going to be built in Croatia.
“I want to mention that resources from the Cohesion Fund have been granted for the projects of construction of WMCs, which only proves that when waste management is concerned, and regardless of the challenges encountered so far, we are moving in the right direction,” said Kukić.
