16 November – Today marked the closing of the World Bank’s project to support the Croatian government in strengthening the country’s capacity to transition to a circular economy.
In the framework of this project, Global Factor, a climate change consultancy, developed a Circular Economy Action Plan for the Construction and Demolition Waste sector, which will serve as a model for defining action plans for other sectors of the Croatian economy (plastics, tourism or textiles).
Although significant results have been achieved in Croatia in previous years in increasing recycling, 58 % of municipal waste was still landfilled in 2021.
The targets to be achieved by 2035 are to reduce landfilling from 58 % to 10 % and to increase recycling from 31 % to 65 %.
As part of the project, a proposal for a five-year Action Plan for the circular management of construction and demolition waste was developed, which defines measures and actions to reduce waste generation and achieve the EU 70% recovery target.
Three other priority sectors have been identified that could benefit most from the implementation of circular solutions in plastics, food and textiles. The Action Plan will form an integral part of the new Waste Management Plan for the period 2023-2028.
It was reported that Croatia produces around six million tonnes of waste annually, representing an average of approximately 1.5 tonnes per person annually, with the majority coming from the construction sector and households.
The waste management system relies heavily on 80 active landfills, where 58 per cent of municipal waste was disposed of last year.
The head of the World Bank’s office in Croatia, Jehan Arulpragasam, said that changing the way products are produced and consumed requires ambitious reforms.
He is pleased that the Croatian government has recognised the importance of the circular transformation of the economy and supports its efforts to achieve EU targets related to exploiting and treating waste as a resource and limiting the use of landfills.
The two-year engagement of the Ministry and the World Bank contributed to the development of measures and policies that encourage the reduction of consumption, the long-term use of products and materials and the extension of their useful life.
Source: Glasistre and Global Factor
