Croatia has allocated more money for recycling yards construction

Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy announced additional EUR 9.25 million for the construction of recycling yards. Total sum has amounted to EUR 29 million. The public call will last until the funds are used.

Due to great interest after the first public call made earlier this year, the Ministry decided to provide additional funds. Projects for the construction of recyclable yards are to be realized by local self-government units, so cities and municipalities are invited again to apply.

Users will be able to co-finance projects up to 85% of its value, and maximum amount for one project is EUR 600.000, as it was announced at times of the first public call.

Since then, until early December, 67 applications were received and in 42 cases reviewed, financing was approved in the total amount of EUR 1.5 million.

When the first public call for waste management projects co-financed by the EU was launched by the Ministry in March this year, EUR 19.4 million in grants were announced for the construction of recyclable yards through the operational program “Competitiveness and Cohesion”.

In January 2017, Croatian government adopted a 5-year Waste Management Plan. That document was a precondition for obtaining the funding from the European Union for the implementation of operational plan “Competition and Cohesion”.

The construction of recycling yards includes construction work, installation of equipment, surveillance, technical assistance for project management and organization of informative and educational activities.

Ministry in charge reminds that functional recycling yards are the key elements of communal waste management, because they provide separate collection of problematic waste, as well as paper waste, metal, glass, plastic, textile and bulky communal waste.

Ministry’s goal is to increase the separation rate of collected communal waste and to reduce the quantity of waste dumped at the landfills. According to the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, Croatia is expected to reach a separation rate of 50% by 2020, including glass, plastic, paper and metal.

It is estimated that in 2014, Croatia’s waste recycling rate was 16per cent, while the EU’s average recycling rate was 44%: The goal is to reach 50% by 2030.