Report on Waste and Chemicals Published
03 July 2014
03/07/2014 - The Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency has published the Report on Waste and Chemicals. The preparation of the Report on the state and management of waste in Kosovo is a responsibility and duty of KEPA, regulated according to the Environmental Protection Law and the Law on Waste. This report also includes chemicals since a considerable portion of chemicals end up as waste, and because in many other aspects the related issues are also relevant for chemicals.
The main purpose of the Report is to inform the public about the state of waste and chemicals in Kosovo, but through this Report, it is also aimed that by informing policymakers, it influences the improvement of policies for the management of waste and chemicals. This Report can also serve as a good guide for the orientation of projects and donor support in the waste and chemicals sector. The Report contains data on the legal, strategic, and institutional framework in the waste and chemicals sector, data on the overall state of waste and chemicals including municipal waste generation and the state of landfills, and then data on infrastructure, projects, and investments in this sector.
Among the main findings of the report, it should be highlighted that Kosovo has made progress in drafting the legal and strategic framework in the waste and chemical sector. The amount of waste deposited in sanitary landfills has continued to increase, although their management is not satisfactory. A considerable number of illegal waste dumps have been identified throughout the territory of Kosovo. The composition of municipal waste is dominated by biodegradable waste, plastics, and paper. There is an increase in investments in the environmental sector.
An important part of the report are also the recommendations within which, among other things, the preparation and implementation of projects, plans, and programs for recycling, waste treatment, and reuse are required, awareness-raising of the population regarding the disposal of waste in appropriate places, banning the disposal of waste in illegal dumps, preparation of programs to reduce the risk from waste, as well as the development of the Waste Information System and data mapping.
The data presented in this Report were collected during fieldwork by the AKMM teams, data which were obtained from regional public companies, KMDK, ZRRUK as well as other governmental and non-governmental institutions. The Report also includes information from Laws, Administrative Instructions, and other documents concerning waste and chemicals. Some of the data presented in this Report were also obtained from various relevant publications and reports.
The Report's data primarily refer to the period 2009-2013, however, in some cases, due to the lack of data and for comparison purposes, data from an earlier period are also presented.