Republika Srpska first in region to get waste prevention program based on EU model

After it adopts a waste management plan, Republika Srpska will be the first in the region to have a fully developed waste prevention program modeled on those in EU countries, according to Svjetlana Radusin, assistant spatial planning minister in charge of the environment.

She was speaking on waste prevention program at a public consultation event on the Draft waste management plan and the Report on a strategic environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Draft waste management plan, organized by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology of RS and held in Banjaluka. According to the ministry’s press release, the waste management plan defines waste management based on an analysis of the current status and goals of waste management set by the waste management strategy for the period 2017-2026.

Radusin expects professional and the broader public to take an active part in the public consultation and to help produce a quality and enforceable document with their comments. She said that the waste management plan is a comprehensive document that provides guidelines for waste management, how to sort it, and where to dispose of it.

There will also be definitive answers about the quantities and types of waste in RS, she added.

The Draft waste management plan and the Report on a strategic EIA of the Draft waste management plan have been prepared under the project Environmental Lobbying and Advocacy CSO Network (ELAN) implemented by the Regional Environmental Center (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe, and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology is in charge of drafting these documents, and the next public consultation event will be held in Istočno Sarajevo on September 11.

In mid-August, the Ministry also published a working version of a bill on changes and amendments to the law on waste.