Without raising environmental awareness, no law or infrastructure will be enough, announced the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development, Damjan Ćulafić.
The Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development (MERS) announced today that Ćulafić participated in the roundtable "Montenegro-Italy Economic Dialogue", organized by the Italian Embassy in Montenegro and the office of the Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ICE) in Podgorica, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro.
"This important event was an opportunity to connect businesspeople from the two countries, exchange experiences and establish new business partnerships, as well as to present current projects and investment opportunities in important sectors," the statement said.
MERS said that Ćulafić "referred to large infrastructure projects, especially in the field of waste management, emphasizing that they will enable faster development of municipal infrastructure in line with European standards, and that the management of valuable raw materials will lay the foundations for the transition to a sustainable, circular economy."
Ćulafić pointed out that waste and wastewater management represents one of the most complex challenges of modern society, and that European Union (EU) countries are no exception.
"In this context, Montenegro, by opting for the European path, has undertaken the obligation to harmonize its legislation with EU legislation. As a result, a new Law on Waste Management was adopted, which contains provisions from twelve directives and one EU regulation. This law has created the foundations for the establishment of a sustainable and efficient waste management system," said Ćulafić.
He added that one of the significant measures of this Law is the ban on the use of lightweight plastic bags with a wall thickness of 15 to 50 microns.
Ćulafić also said that special emphasis has been placed on establishing a system of extended producer responsibility, which obliges producers and importers to bear financial and organizational responsibility for waste management resulting from imported or manufactured products.
As he said, in order to implement the law more efficiently, MERS will pay special attention to strengthening inspection supervision in the coming period.
"In accordance with the Law on Waste Management, we have a draft of the State Waste Management Plan for the period 2025-2029, which has been put up for public debate, and which will define the further dynamics of infrastructure construction and development of the waste management system," said Ćulafić.
He also emphasized that the Municipal Wastewater Management Plan in Montenegro (2020-2035) defines that 37 agglomerations will be fully equipped with municipal wastewater treatment plants and adequate collector systems, so it envisages the construction of a collector network with a length of 885 km and municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in all agglomerations at full capacity, and that over 20 new municipal wastewater treatment plants will be built in the coming period.
"However, without raising environmental awareness, no law or infrastructure will be enough. Educating citizens, businesses and local governments about the importance of proper waste management is important for the success of the reforms," said Ćulafić.
MERS also said that Ćulafić will highlight "the extremely important cooperation with the Italian Embassy in Montenegro, which helps us raise environmental awareness, especially among young people."
"Investing in recycling technologies, wastewater treatment and renewable energy sources creates opportunities for new employment, reducing negative environmental impacts and improving environmental quality, and paves the way for the development of an environmentally responsible economy that integrates the principles of the circular economy," said Ćulafić.
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