Impact of uncontrolled waste dumpsite towards environment
05/03/2020
Balling the waste
21/04/2020
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Waste management, although significantly less, at around € 200-300 million, is a much more complex area to implement as citizens are very sensitive on this subject. The “just not in my backyard” syndrome has affected the country since the first studies of the construction of regional landfills for municipal waste. Although these landfills are more waste treatment centers with less than 20% of the waste being disposed of, the public is still protesting to build a landfill in their vicinity. The public is not sufficiently acquainted with the need and advantage of having an integrated waste management system in which there is a modern landfill and a system of transfer stations that will operate using the most up-to-date technologies available. We are witnessing that the population, and some civil society organizations, encouraged and celebrated as the proper the referendum decisions of the population to ban the construction of landfills in their vicinity. It seems like this right of referendum does not have other settlements in the Republic of Northern Macedonia. No one thought what if we all voted for such a referendum. What will we do with the waste we generate, where will we dump it, can we export it, will anyone approve it now that we have declared that we do not want to import waste? At the same time, the application of the circular economy, which is a priority in Europe, can be difficult to implement without the free movement of waste which may be a raw material for someone else. I believe that the ban on waste imports, no matter what it is, has been brought more than the need to woo the public, without perceiving all aspects and principles of the EU, nor is it appropriate to
our EU integration process. That is why I believe that waste management will be our biggest challenge in the EU negotiation process. State authorities should pay particular attention to informing the public, training the local administration and involving all stakeholders in decision-making, which can only be fair if they are in the spirit of the waste management hierarchy and comply with circular principles. economy. I always say that we are not rich
enough to dispose of waste irreversibly, but we must use all its potential to protect our natural resources.
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It must be implemented at the time of EU accession, except for those articles of the directives for which we will have approved transitional periods. Experience from previous enlargements shows that the environment and climate change sector is becoming a priority in national government agendas with the opening of negotiations with the EU. Therefore, I believe that the decision to start negotiations with the EU will have the greatest benefits for Chapter 27. However, we must be careful and responsible. Failure to pay attention to this chapter in a timely manner can be an obstacle to EU membership, as you enter the EU with fulfilled requirements for all chapters and you cannot become a member with just a few chapters. The real time for Chapter 27 comes with the opening of negotiations and I am very glad that this process has begun.
