Chemicals

According to several reports on the state of the environment provided by the Ministry of Environment, Municipality of Centre, Institute of Statistics, and others, it is considered that the household waste is a mixed with organic and inorganic compounds, which goes to landfill Drisla unselected. The landfill has no treatment of leakage water and exhausted gases, yet. Plastic PET bottles are component of such waste, which by melting through decades or evaporation during firing the landfill, release gases called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Persistent organic pollutants are quite mobile and circulate globally with the so-called "grasshopper effect". These pollutants released into a region of the world can, through constant repetitive process (evaporation, precipitation), to be transported through the atmosphere in regions distant from the primary source. Skopje s waste treatment system does not deviate from the country, although occasional some entities express interest to collect PET plastic, there are individual initiatives to selective collect PET plastic bottles from waste bins, and periodically the Public enterprise Komunalna higiena collects some plastic. But as the collection isn t arranged systematically the plastic is not completely separated from the landfill. In addition, the separation does not take place primarily in households, but after throwing, which is the second problem with the waste, because the secondary selection carries a risk of disease and creates a great deal of opportunity the plastics to go to landfill. The separation of PET plastics largely reduces POP evaporation. This increases hygiene in the city. A third benefit is that plastic bottles can be re-used or reprocessed into secondary raw material (in the form of granules, tubes, flakes etc.) for production of new plastic plate for the final product. The recovery is performed in only one processing installation in Skopje and a purchasing center that granulates PET, pack and export. In 2005 Macedonia adopts the Law on Waste and the National Plan for Waste Management and in 2009 there is a law to manage packets of waste. These documents focus on the management, disposal, collection and recycling, as well as the responsibilities of generators and those who waste. Laws open the possibility of creating systematic collection and selection of the overall waste, and thus the waste plastic PET bottles. Municipality Center in its annual program in 2011 adopted a plan for selective collection of waste packages and selling for its support of public institutions. In the Municipality of Chair in the program for 2011 is planned to intensify the program to educate young people about reducing waste. These two plans enable the project to run smoothly in the future and to achieve positive results. ORT in its commitment to sustainable development finds its role in merging environmental and economic benefits in the service of the socialization of residents in both municipalities. Public Enterprise Komunalna Higiena despite regular collection of waste has special services for the collection and treatment of selected plastic waste and in 2011 adopted a plan to raise public awareness of the selective collection of plastic PET bottles, which further supports this project. The project aims to contribute to the systematic selection of primary waste PET bottles to allow changing the consciousness and habits of the population to maintain hygiene by reducing waste. On the other hand, it stimulates creation of new operators with waste. This will contribute to reducing the size of street waste by 20% and reducing the burden on landfill Drisla by 10%. The Drisla landfill deposits up to 400 tons daily of mixed waste. The Chair municipality has 17,106 households. In the municipality Center are about 12,000 households. One average family produces 0,8 kg of plastic waste weekly, which is about 40% of plastic PET bottles. Usually this waste goes into a container on the street or gets burned. Two years ago, when we have had the project supported by GEF-SGP, we learned that Drisla are carrying 310 tons of waste daily. This gives us a right to consider that the project contributed to reducing the PoPs in the city. The collected and sold PET plastic, despite the assistance of the landfill, will reduce the risk of release of POPs (mainly dioxins and furans) that transmitted through air, soil, water and plant. PoPs cause cancer disease in living organisms. POPs reduction is in line with the criteria of the Operational Program on Persistent Organic Pollutants - POPs (OP14), in the central area (4) Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). On the other hand the project intends to contribute to capacity building of the participating schools and municipalities in the project, in area of project cycle management (planning, writing, executing). With couple of days of training the participants will learn more to improve the project for future. Additionally we will disseminate the positive practice experiences form the project with the 10 municipalities in Skopje and their schools. On 1 day debate we will present the project and ask the municipalities to join the action on voluntarily basis to spread the POPs reducing idea across the City of Skopje. This activity is in line with the Central Area of interest of GEF-SGP Capacity Building and Policies (CD).

Macedonia