Report on BACID Activity

Waste Management ; Waste Management Region

Introduction

SA Consulting GmbH in cooperation with the Regional Develooment Agency of Zlatibor organized a three-day event on the topic: “Analysis and further Develpment of the Primary Waste Selection at Sanitary Landfill Duboko; other Waste Management Projects in the Zlatibor Region”. The event was carried out in the period from 21. to 23. March, 2016 and took place in Nova Varos, at the Duboko Landfill near Uzice and at the Banjica landfill location. In total the event had around 40 participants.

For details on the agenda please refer to Annex 1 to this Report.

During the preparations and the organization of the event our partner, the Development Agency of Zlatibor, performed a series of activities according to the signed agreement.

Introduction speeches at the beginning of the event have been given by the Mr. Dimitrije Paunovic, Mayor of Uzice, Mr. Zlavko Lukic, Director of Regional Agency Zaltibor, Mrs. Dr. Theoman-Brenner, WKO and Mr. Gerhard Sabathiel, Managing Director of SA Consulting GmbH. At the opening of the event also the local press was present.

For further information please take a look at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQHXPgszvIg.

In three working days around 40 people participate in the event. The event has been split into 3 separate topics covered by a daily program each.

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Day 1 focused on information generation and lectures by Gerhard Sabathiel and Aldin Celovic, SA Consulting Representative Western covering the Regional Development, the Waste Management Situation in and the Financing of Municipal Development incl. PPP modeling. Great interest from the audience led to a long working day up to 7.30 pm.

For details on the presentations please refer to Annex 2 – Annex 4 to this Report.

Day 2 focused on the Landfill Duboko and was held at the location of the landfill. The topics covered presentations about the landfill given by the management team, discussions on issues and next steps and ended with a tour around the landfill site.

For further details on the Duboko Landfill and the feasibility study please refer to Annex 5 to this Report.

Status, Issues and Opportunities of the Waste Management Project in Duboko

The Municipalities of Uzice, Bajina Basta, Pozega, , Cajetina, Kosjeric, Lucani and came - after a detailed preparation and analysis process - to a municipal support agreement concerning founding, construction and usage of the Regional sanitary landfill “Duboko”. This agreement regulates mutual rights and obligations connected to construction, financing and exploitation of the Regional sanitary landfill “Duboko”. The Municipality of Cacak joined the Project in October 2005. A special purpose vehicle called “PUC Duboko” has been founded.

The first investment has been initiated in 2007 based on a feasibility study financed by the EU Municipal Infrastructure Support Programme. The project has been co-financed by EBRD and supported by donations from SIDA.

The Project Duboko contained the construction of a new sanitary landfill meeting the Serbian and EU standards with minimal environmental impact. In addition to the landfill site, the construction of a separation plant at the landfill site in Duboko as well as several transfer stations had been planned. Operation of the landfill started in 2011.

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With the closing of former local landfills the participating municipalities deliver all the waste to the Duboko landfill. The local Utility companies shall continue to perform their core business - waste collection and its transport to transfer stations. The collection of waste in rural areas is still an issue that needs to be solved.

Along with the development of Project Duboko Phase I the local utility companies need to develop a proper primary waste selection process. This is a very important element, not only on the implementation of Landfill Duboko, but as part of a complete regional waste management system. The primary selection is a key element of the whole waste management system as it directly affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the Waste separation line at the Duboko landfill. Currently only in Cacak a system of primary selection is in existence. The objective of the new waste management system is to cover the entire Region with a systematic and organized process for the collection of waste.

As a legacy of the past many local waste management operations, landfills, transfer stations and collection centers do not have an actual permission according to existing rules and regulations.

At the moment the main issue can be seen in the economical sustainability. Local communities support PUC Duboko with funds out of their budgets. In 2016 the company will repay the final loan installment to EBRD. For 2017 the plan is to achieve economical sustainability. Main investments for 2016 are planned in transfer stations, transport vehicles and collection stations representing around EUR 2 Mio supported again by SIDA.

At the moment the selection line operates far below its capacity and would need higher waste input in order to be managed economically feasible. There might be also an opportunity to improve the existing waste collection and transportation system. This can be seen also in connection with an expansion of business in other municipalities from the Zlatibor region - , , and Nova Varos, which are related with the Landfill Banjica.

The quantity of waste delivered to the Duboko landfill is seen as another sensitivity element for the success of the Duboko project.

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Plans for further expansion of the Duboko waste project

Several possibilities as options for further expansion of the Landfill Duboko project can be considered. Of prime importance is the realization of the planned transfer stations and primary selection centers. Also new and larger vehicles are necessary to operate more efficiently.

Another opportunity that should be investigated further is the geographic expansion in the Zlatibor region and a cooperation with the Banjica landfill.

Evaluation of Waste Management Situation and Projects in the Zlatibor Region; the Banjica Landfill

The is located in the western, mountainous part of Serbia. The administrative centre of the Zlatibor district is Užice. The district encompasses the municipalities of: Bajina Bašta, Kosjerić, Užice, Požega, Čajetina, Arilje, Nova Varoš, Prijepolje, Sjenica, Priboj. 51.2% of the population lives in urban areas.

For these 10 municipalities two landfills are planned. The first one, being in operation, is the landfill Duboko in Užice. The second planned landfill is Banjica. So far no final confirmation has been given from the government for this landfill.

Many of the existing landfills have no clear permissions. At the moment there is no selection of waste. Part of the waste even reaches the river , which has created an enormous issue that needs to be solved urgently. There have been contacts with Italian investors, but so far no concrete project has been developed.

There are 2 main options to consider. First, develop the landfill in Banjica as a separate sanitary landfill according to actual standards and second, establish cooperation with Duboko. This could lead to the construction of a transfer station in Banjica with transport of waste to the Duboko landfill.

The situation there at the moment is both quite complex and urgent as currently municipalities use unsanitary landfills including the existing Landfill in Banjica.

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In general waste management is a big issue in the region. Banjica is just one example that needs urgent solutions. We got the impression that the people involved in the waste issue are absolutely willing to work on a long term solution, showed serious interest in the topic and the specific event.

As this is a similar issue in several regions and municipalities in Serbia we also discussed with the participants the possibility to create a waste management model for rural areas in the region that could be used as a role model for other regions in Serbia.

Annexes

Annex 1: Agenda of the 3 day event Annex 2: Presentation on Regional Development Annex 3: Presentation on Overview of Waste Management in Serbia Annex 4: Presentation on Financing Municipal Development Annex 5: Duboko Feasibility Study

The Action is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) through the BACID grant scheme (Building Administrative Capacities in Danube Region & Western Balkans), managed by the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (AACT) and KDZ Center for Public Administration Research.

Disclaimer: This publication/document has been produced with the assistance of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the author/s and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of ADA nor the Austrian Government.

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1st Day

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2nd day, Duboko Landfill

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3rd day, Banjica Landfill location

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