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Report on BACID Activity

Waste Management Duboko; Waste Management Zlatibor Region Introduction

SA Consulting GmbH in cooperation with the Regional Develooment Agency of Zlatibor organized a

three-day event on the topic: “Analysis and further Develpment of the Primary Waste Selection at

Sanitary Landfill Duboko; other Waste Management Projects in the Zlatibor Region”. The event was

carried out in the period from 21. to 23. March, 2016 and took place in Nova Varos, at the Duboko

Landfill near Uzice and at the Banjica landfill location. In total the event had around 40 participants.

For details on the agenda please refer to Annex 1 to this Report.

During the preparations and the organization of the event our partner, the Development Agency of

Zlatibor, performed a series of activities according to the signed agreement.

Introduction speeches at the beginning of the event have been given by the Mr. Dimitrije Paunovic,

Mayor of Uzice, Mr. Zlavko Lukic, Director of Regional Agency Zaltibor, Mrs. Dr. Theoman-Brenner, WKO

Belgrade and Mr. Gerhard Sabathiel, Managing Director of SA Consulting GmbH. At the opening of the

event also the local press was present.

For further information please take a look at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQHXPgszvIg.

In three working days around 40 people participate in the event. The event has been split into 3

separate topics covered by a daily program each.

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Day 1 focused on information generation and lectures by Gerhard Sabathiel and Aldin Celovic, SA

Consulting Representative Western Balkans covering the Regional Development, the Waste

Management Situation in Serbia and the Financing of Municipal Development incl. PPP modeling.

Great interest from the audience led to a long working day up to 7.30 pm.

For details on the presentations please refer to Annex 2 – Annex 4 to this Report.

Day 2 focused on the Landfill Duboko and was held at the location of the landfill. The topics covered

presentations about the landfill given by the management team, discussions on issues and next steps

and ended with a tour around the landfill site.

For further details on the Duboko Landfill and the feasibility study please refer to Annex 5 to this

Report.

Status, Issues and Opportunities of the Waste Management Project in Duboko

The Municipalities of Uzice, Bajina Basta, Pozega, Arilje, Cajetina, Kosjeric, Lucani and Ivanjica came -

after a detailed preparation and analysis process - to a municipal support agreement concerning

founding, construction and usage of the Regional sanitary landfill “Duboko”. This agreement regulates

mutual rights and obligations connected to construction, financing and exploitation of the Regional

sanitary landfill “Duboko”. The Municipality of Cacak joined the Project in October 2005. A special

purpose vehicle called “PUC Duboko” has been founded.

The first investment has been initiated in 2007 based on a feasibility study financed by the EU

Municipal Infrastructure Support Programme. The project has been co-financed by EBRD and

supported by donations from SIDA.

The Project Duboko contained the construction of a new sanitary landfill meeting the Serbian and EU

standards with minimal environmental impact. In addition to the landfill site, the construction of a

separation plant at the landfill site in Duboko as well as several transfer stations had been planned.

Operation of the landfill started in 2011.

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With the closing of former local landfills the participating municipalities deliver all the waste to the

Duboko landfill. The local Utility companies shall continue to perform their core business - waste

collection and its transport to transfer stations. The collection of waste in rural areas is still an issue

that needs to be solved.

Along with the development of Project Duboko Phase I the local utility companies need to develop a

proper primary waste selection process. This is a very important element, not only on the

implementation of Landfill Duboko, but as part of a complete regional waste management system.

The primary selection is a key element of the whole waste management system as it directly affects

the effectiveness and efficiency of the Waste separation line at the Duboko landfill. Currently only in

Cacak a system of primary selection is in existence. The objective of the new waste management

system is to cover the entire Region with a systematic and organized process for the collection of

waste.

As a legacy of the past many local waste management operations, landfills, transfer stations and

collection centers do not have an actual permission according to existing rules and regulations.

At the moment the main issue can be seen in the economical sustainability. Local communities

support PUC Duboko with funds out of their budgets. In 2016 the company will repay the final loan

installment to EBRD. For 2017 the plan is to achieve economical sustainability. Main investments for

2016 are planned in transfer stations, transport vehicles and collection stations representing around

EUR 2 Mio supported again by SIDA.

At the moment the selection line operates far below its capacity and would need higher waste input

in order to be managed economically feasible. There might be also an opportunity to improve the

existing waste collection and transportation system. This can be seen also in connection with an

expansion of business in other municipalities from the Zlatibor region - Priboj, Prijepolje, Sjenica and

Nova Varos, which are related with the Landfill Banjica.

The quantity of waste delivered to the Duboko landfill is seen as another sensitivity element for the

success of the Duboko project.

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Plans for further expansion of the Duboko waste project

Several possibilities as options for further expansion of the Landfill Duboko project can be considered.

Of prime importance is the realization of the planned transfer stations and primary selection centers.

Also new and larger vehicles are necessary to operate more efficiently.

Another opportunity that should be investigated further is the geographic expansion in the Zlatibor

region and a cooperation with the Banjica landfill.

Evaluation of Waste Management Situation and Projects in the Zlatibor Region; the Banjica Landfill

The Zlatibor District is located in the western, mountainous part of Serbia. The administrative centre

of the Zlatibor district is Užice. The district encompasses the municipalities of: Bajina Bašta, Kosjerić,

Užice, Požega, Čajetina, Arilje, Nova Varoš, Prijepolje, Sjenica, Priboj. 51.2% of the population lives in

urban areas.

For these 10 municipalities two landfills are planned. The first one, being in operation, is the landfill

Duboko in Užice. The second planned landfill is Banjica. So far no final confirmation has been given

from the government for this landfill.

Many of the existing landfills have no clear permissions. At the moment there is no selection of waste.

Part of the waste even reaches the river Drina, which has created an enormous issue that needs to be

solved urgently. There have been contacts with Italian investors, but so far no concrete project has

been developed.

There are 2 main options to consider. First, develop the landfill in Banjica as a separate sanitary

landfill according to actual standards and second, establish cooperation with Duboko. This could lead

to the construction of a transfer station in Banjica with transport of waste to the Duboko landfill.

The situation there at the moment is both quite complex and urgent as currently municipalities use

unsanitary landfills including the existing Landfill in Banjica.

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In general waste management is a big issue in the region. Banjica is just one example that needs

urgent solutions. We got the impression that the people involved in the waste issue are absolutely

willing to work on a long term solution, showed serious interest in the topic and the specific event.

As this is a similar issue in several regions and municipalities in Serbia we also discussed with the

participants the possibility to create a waste management model for rural areas in the region that

could be used as a role model for other regions in Serbia.

Annexes

Annex 1: Agenda of the 3 day event

Annex 2: Presentation on Regional Development

Annex 3: Presentation on Overview of Waste Management in Serbia

Annex 4: Presentation on Financing Municipal Development

Annex 5: Duboko Feasibility Study

The Action is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) through the BACID grant scheme (Building Administrative Capacities in Danube Region & Western Balkans), managed by the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (AACT) and KDZ Center for Public Administration Research. Disclaimer: This publication/document has been produced with the assistance of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the author/s and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of ADA nor the Austrian Government.

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1st Day

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2nd day, Duboko Landfill

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3rd day, Banjica Landfill location

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