Waste recycling suffered a dramatic drop to 17.2% in 2016 from 25% in 2015

Recycling of urban waste inside Albania has experienced a drastic decline over the past year.

According to data from the Institute of Statistics, only 17.2% of recycled waste was recycled in Albania, whereas in 2015 this rate was over 25%.

The decline in recycled waste inside the country came in a year that saw a harsh public debate on permitting the import of waste.

This trend raises the question whether a wider import of waste would encourage collection of recycled waste produced inside the country.

Regardless of the specific projects, such as the one undertaken by the Municipality of Tirana, on the division of waste at the source, official statistics show that collection and recycling of waste at the national level is by no means in a good track.

Currently, import of waste is not completely prohibited, but it can only be done for non-hazardous waste and with special permission from the Council of Ministers.

According to INSTAT, the remnants of recyclable materials account for at least 30% of the total waste, which indicates that recycling potential is far from full use.

Less recycling means more pollution for the environment, but, on the other hand, less jobs for the industry of this sector.

The survival of the industry may require a solution, but, importing does not seem reasonable in the light of the fact that recycling local waste is overlooked.

Last year, Albania produced over 2.2 million tons of waste, of which only 59% were managed in any form.

But even the remnants treated in the vast majority, about 78%, were simply deposited at landfills.

Even the burning of waste for energy suffered a sharp drop to only 0.7%, from 1.5% in 2015.

SCAN

*Material i përgatitur nga portali SCAN. Ripublikimi mund të bëhet vetëm kundrejt citimit të autorësisë dhe burimit origjinal.