Prozor-Rama is only BiH municipality that sorts all collected waste

The Municipality of Prozor-Rama is the only one in Bosnia and Herzegovina that sorts all collected waste. The material is processed in the Ekopark facility, including composting. Of all processed waste, 60% is reused. The local authority says the rest can only be incinerated for energy production.

Josip Juričić, assistant mayor of Prozor-Rama, told state-owned Fena news agency that Ekopark so far processed all waste that was collected in the municipality – 1,809 tons. Akta republished the article.

The local authority invested more than BAM 6 million (EUR 3.1 million). Ekopark is planned to include a wastewater treatment plant.

According to Juričić, the project is important for the entire area downstream on the Neretva from Prozor in BiH, including Jablanica, Mostar and Čapljina, as well as for the part of the river in Croatia, where it meets the Adriatic Sea. The municipality thus expects also to tap into the European Union’s funds, he said.

Six other local authorities in the Federation of BiH have waste sorting units, Juričić said – Mostar, Konjic, Sarajevo, Tuzla, Čapljina and Bihać. However, Prozor-Rama is perhaps the only one that treats 100% of what it collects, he stressed.

Juričić: About 40% of collected waste is unusable

Prozor-Rama was the first to install a composting facility where all biodegradable waste separated from mixed municipal waste is processed. In 2023, the turnover was 733 tons of biodegradable waste, while 60% of all processed waste was delivered for different uses.

The municipality sold 96.8 tons of paper and cardboard packaging, 117.6 tons of plastic packaging, 65.9 tons of glass packaging and 24 tons of metal packaging. The local authority is seeking buyers for 35 tons of multi-layer packaging and 30 tons of used car tires.

Juričić pointed out that the remaining 40% of waste including textiles and multi-layer packaging only has energy value.

Before the investment in Ekopark, all waste ended up at the local landfill, and now the local authority is waiting for a waste incinerator to be built in BiH or to fund another consumer of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), he explained. The assistant mayor stressed that the ultimate goal is to become a zero waste municipality.

Ivančević: The solution is in incinerators or sanitary landfills

More than 80% of the territory of Prozor-Rama is covered by the waste collection system and a project is underway to increase the share to 99%. Juričić added that ten years ago the level was only 30% and that there was an illegal landfill in every village.

Municipality chief Jozo Ivančević said the municipality has fulfilled its legal obligation with Ekopark to dispose of waste in an environmentally friendly way. The authorities of a higher rank in BiH need to do their job, as the government has failed completely, he stressed.

According to his words, there is no real solution for the waste left behind after sorting and composting. Incinerators or organized sanitary landfills are possible answers, Ivančević added.