The Mirage of Waste Recycling in North Macedonia

A stone's throw from the productive heart of Europe, not far from the European Parliament where a virtuous race to protect the environment and increase waste recycling dominates, at the center of an area where the population has cleared customs for the circular economy, North Macedonia, as reported by Aleksandar Samardjiev, remains light years away from the rest of Europe on the subject of waste management.

Let's see why

Despite some positive examples, recycling remains at extremely low levels in North Macedonia. According to experts and observers, the country must quickly work out a long-term strategy in waste management

Households collect waste in a single bin and then empty it into bins on the street: then the garbage is taken by municipal trucks to a landfill, where it is accumulated on the ground. This is, in essence, the image that summarizes waste management in North Macedonia, with extremely low levels of sorting and recycling.

The more you waste, the less I recycle

Statistics confirm the dire situation: while the total amount of waste collected in the country is steadily increasing, recycling capacity is proceeding in the opposite direction.

In 2017, North Macedonia generated 787,000 tons of waste, of which only 0.6% was recycled.

In 2018, waste increased to 855,000 tons, with a recycling rate of 0.5%.

In 2019, waste reached 916,000 tons, while recycling capacity dropped to a mere 0.3%.

According to officials of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, the current legal framework is correct and consistent with European Union standards, but the laws , strategies and plans for waste management and environmental protection are poorly applied at the municipal level.

Municipalities should start working on waste sorting: there is hardly any waste sorting and separate bins, ie there should be one (yellow) for packaging in plastic, glass, paper, etc. and one for mixed non-recyclable waste.

“In this way, the waste from the yellow bin would not go to landfill, but would be separated into paper, glass, plastic, etc. and recycled. At the moment, citizens are not ready to select, nor do they have the infrastructure to do so. We also need more control and supervision by municipal inspectors, ”Ana Karanfilovska Mazneva, head of the ministerial department of Waste Management, explains to OBCT.

In its 2020 Waste Treatment Trend Report, the State Audit Office concludes that sorting and separate collection of municipal waste is performed only in some municipalities and to a limited extent.

The recycling rate is also low. Therefore, more intense action by the state, local authorities and the business sector is needed to improve in this area.

Prilep, a positive example

Local media often take for example the city of Prilep, firmly in first place for waste sorting in the country, which contributes as much as all other Macedonian cities put together, including the capital Skopje.

With a population of 75,000 inhabitants, the city generates between 28,000 and 31,000 tons of waste every year, of which the public service company Komunalec manages to sort and sell up to 13,000 tons of selected waste, almost half of the quantities collected.

In 2020 alone, this utility company managed to sort and sell 822 tons of paper and cardboard waste, 87 tons of various types of plastic waste and PET packaging, 56 tons of nylon and 78 tons of glass packaging from the city.

In addition, around three thousand tons of construction debris were collected with their own construction debris containers, which cover the municipal landfill with municipal waste. The company also selects between two thousand and three thousand tons of additional waste materials (textiles, furniture, wood, etc.), which however are not currently sold in the country or abroad.

The municipality requests, but has not yet received, assistance from the state for further waste treatment through the construction of a Secondary Selection Center.

Looking for an effective waste management strategy

Legally, the territory of North Macedonia is divided into eight regions which have their own landfills. Despite good intentions, however, the garbage is simply thrown on the ground and untreated.

“The idea is to transform landfills into real centers for the overall management of waste. When household waste bins are distributed, secondary sorting should be done at regional landfills and then the collected paper, cardboard, glass and plastics should be sold to the private recycling sector, thereby finally reducing litter across the country. country, "explains Ana Karanfilovska Mazneva.

Igor Makaloski, representative of one of the companies that collect waste selected in collaboration with municipalities, believes that it is necessary for people to become more aware of the advantages of selecting waste.

He says his company, while collaborating with over 40 local administrations in North Macedonia, where over 70% of the 2 million inhabitants live, collects only 1,800 tons of packaging waste.

“Unfortunately in North Macedonia we often only have statements of principle when it comes to ecology. Together, we need to work harder on this issue.

There are shortcomings in the collection process and some of the installed equipment is constantly vandalized by unscrupulous citizens.

But this does not relieve us of the responsibility of finding ways to collect packaging waste and dispose of it in appropriate places, ”explains Makaloski.

The activist Branko Prlja (founder of the groups "Give, don't bite" and "Don't throw away, don't pollute" to raise awareness of recycling, reuse and reduced use in order to preserve the environment) states that the state should be more actively involved in the recycling process.

“Prohibit, limit or tax non-recyclable materials. This way they will not be used and will not end up in landfills. On the other hand, it can help subsidized companies to recycle them or facilitate their transport to countries that can recycle them, ”Prlja wrote in his blog.

Many deadlines for sorting and recycling targets in various national plans have already been missed: the reuse and recycling of 50% of household waste was planned for 2020, but it remains an unattained goal to date.

Environmental research also shows that waste left on the ground emits harmful substances and gases, making it one of the causes of air pollution, another major health problem in North Macedonia.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.