Montenegro will transform into a "zero landfill" society by banning the creation of new ones, closing existing ones, and rehabilitating landfills and landfills by 2030.
In order to make this plan a reality, the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development estimates that 400 million euros are needed in the next four years, just for waste management infrastructure.
This is stated in the Draft State Waste Management Plan for the period from 2025 to 2029, which has recently been subject to public debate.
"Montenegro, as a candidate country for EU membership, has an obligation to establish a functional integrated waste management system (IWMS) and this goal is considered one of the priorities on the path to EU accession. The development of waste management plans is an obligation of EU member states and stems from Article 28 of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste," the draft plan states.
It is stated that the key principles are the promotion of integrated household waste management. The priority, it was emphasized, is on waste reduction, reuse and recycling, complete prevention of illegal dumping, landfilling and incineration of waste, but also the polluter pays principle...
"The State Waste Management Plan foresees that Montenegro will progressively move towards a "circular economy" society, in order to realize resource recovery opportunities and increase investments and jobs in the recycling sector. Accordingly, the main quantitative waste management objectives are to prepare for reuse at least 30 percent by 2028 and 50 percent by 2030 of waste materials such as paper, metal, plastic and glass, from households and other sources where waste streams are similar to household waste streams, to prepare for reuse and recycling," it states.
The plan is to recycle 2028 percent of packaging waste by 25 - 30 percent glass packaging, 30 percent paper and cardboard, 40 percent metal, as well as 15 percent plastic packaging and five percent wood pulp.
Every municipality has "wild" landfills, a total of 334.
"To achieve the above collection goals, the DPUO envisages the modernization of the waste collection and transportation system, the reorganization of collection service areas, a new zoning design and improvement of route plans, the optimization of logistics through the development of a network of transfer stations, the development of a network of recycling centers, and the strengthening of separate collection of waste edible oils and fats," the Draft Plan states.
It is emphasized that almost every city in Montenegro has an unregulated waste landfill and these landfills pose a great pressure on the environment.
"There are 18 controlled landfills in Montenegro, two of which are intended only for the disposal of construction waste (the Dragalj location in Kotor and the Brajići location in Budva). According to MERS, there are 334 illegal landfills in Montenegro," the draft document states.
Therefore, the Draft Plan envisages the establishment of four regional waste management centers - a central one with headquarters in Podgorica and Nikšić, a northern one in Bijelo Polje, and a coastal one in Bar.
“The basic infrastructure for municipal waste management will include a material processing (recycling) facility, with a total capacity of approximately 70.000 tons per year, where separately collected mixed recyclable waste will be returned and cleaned for reuse/recycling. The existing MRF network will be expanded to the entire country,” it said.
It was emphasized that the existing non-hazardous waste landfills in Podgorica (“Livade”) and Bar (“Možura”) will be supplemented with additional facilities.
“Total landfill needs will be approximately 205.000 tons per year,” it explained.
Option to take out the garbage at the time the trucks arrive
According to data from the Draft Document, in 2021, 189.650 tons of biodegradable waste were produced in Montenegro, or 287 kilograms per capita. In the same year, 144.837 tons of recyclable waste were produced, or 219 kilograms per capita. There was 5.328 tons of bulky waste, or eight kilograms per capita.
During 2021, 308.904 tons of municipal waste were produced, in 2022 321.129, while in 2023 the figure was 342.230. This is 498 kilograms of waste per capita in 2021, 520 in 2022, and 548 in 2023.
The draft plan also envisages the organization of waste collection, temporary storage and transportation to companies authorized by the Environmental Protection Agency for waste management.
"An appropriate management system and reporting on the amount of waste generated will be established. Particular emphasis will be placed on assuming the responsibilities attributed to producers in the context of their extended responsibility," the document states.
It was emphasized that the most common issues that need to be addressed when designing waste collection services relate to the frequency of collection and the definition of routes for waste collection. Both of these parameters, it is stated, affect the quality and cost of waste collection services.
It was explained that several options were offered, and that they relied on establishing separate collection of recyclable and biodegradable waste fractions.
"Available options include containers on the streets, or containers in special locations inside or outside buildings, as well as various systems for the separate collection of recyclable waste fractions," the Draft Plan states.
And when it comes to transportation, there are multiple options.
“Waste is previously collected in plastic bags (50 or 80 liters) that are taken out to the street, in front of the buildings, around the time of collection. The bags are manually collected by operators and loaded into the waste collection truck. The second option envisages waste collection based on a ‘door-to-door’ system, with bins and individual containers. In the case of this system, each individual household receives bins and containers - bins of 120 or 240 liters, respectively,” it states.
Priority facility for temporary storage of hazardous waste
The Draft Document emphasizes that Montenegro does not have a landfill for the treatment of hazardous waste.
"Waste producers across the country are forced to allocate significant amounts of money to hire authorized legal entities engaged in the export of hazardous waste, to take care of the waste in accordance with the Law on Waste Management, or to store it 'temporarily'. A facility for temporary storage of hazardous waste is considered necessary, in which hazardous waste collected from the entire country is repackaged and prepared for export, if necessary," it is emphasized.
It was specified that approximately 24 percent, 317.136,6 tons, of the total amount of waste generated (1.314.393,60 tons) in Montenegro during 2020 was industrial hazardous waste.
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