City of Osijek has highest waste separation rate in Croatia

Osijek has reached a 57.92% waste separation rate in 2024, the highest score among the four largest cities in the country.

Osijek, with a share of 57.92% of separately collected waste, is again the best among large cities in Croatia, according to Mayor Ivan Radić. Because of the achievement, he visited the employees of the city’s waste utility Unikom in the early morning hours.

He stressed that the success is the result of responsible citizens who separate waste, the dedicated work of Unikom employees, and ongoing investments in infrastructure.

Osijek has four recycling yards, including a mobile one. They are able to separate 52 types of waste. There is also a composting facility. As the mayor pointed out, the local authority invests in consumer education, from kindergartens to its Eco City Waste Fest, because it aims to maintain and improve the achieved results.

Osijek is the only major Croatian city that doesn’t pay penalties for not achieving waste separation targets

Radić underlined that Osijek is the only large Croatian city that, thanks to waste separation above 50%, doesn’t pay penalties.

Municipal authorities in Croatia pay fines per ton of landfilled waste that was supposed to be separated and properly processed in line with waste management rules. The fine for 2025 was set at EUR 30 per ton. The obligatory separation rate for 2025 is 50%.

Unikom CEO Igor Pandžić highlighted that in 2024, a total of 36,000 tons of municipal waste were collected, of which nearly 21,000 tons were recyclable waste. The largest portion was biodegradable waste, thanks to the composting unit, into which the city continues to invest.

Osijek has maintained a waste separation rate above 57% for two consecutive years

Paper, plastic, glass, and metal accounted for over 9,000 tons, Pandžić said, and recalled that Osijek achieved a waste separation rate above 57% for two consecutive years.

He said more projects are underway, including the expansion of the composting facility and the establishment of a center for recycling bulky waste, which would further reduce the quantities ending up at the Lončarica Velika landfill.

In Pandžić’s words, they are important steps in terms of the circular economy. “What our fellow citizens separate, we process into a new product like compost, which then goes back into gardens and yards,” he explained.

At the meeting with the workers, the mayor and the CEO announced a 10% salary bonus as a reward for their work.