Sustainable waste management
Waste means any substance or object which its holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard.
Principles of waste management
Waste management is based on the observance of environmental protection principles laid down by law which governs the protection of the environment, and the EU acquis, the principles of international environmental law and scientific knowledge, the world’s best practices and professional rules, and in particular the following principles:
- ‘the polluter pays principle’— the waste producer, the former waste holder or the waste holder bears the costs of waste management measures and is financially responsible for enforcing resolution actions because of the damage caused or likely to be caused by waste;
- ‘the proximity principle’— the treatment of waste must take place in the appropriate facility or plant located as close as possible to the place of origin of the waste, taking account of economic efficiency and environmental acceptability;
- ‘the principle of self-sufficiency’— waste management shall be carried out in a self-sufficient manner by enabling independent achievement of statutory targets at state level, taking into account geographical circumstances or the need for specific facilities for specific categories of waste; and
- ‘traceability principle’— determination of the origin of waste by product, packaging and producer of the product, as well as the possession of that waste including treatment.
In order to prevent the generation of waste and to implement waste management regulations and policies, priority ranking for waste management shall be applied, namely:
1. prevention of waste generation
2. preparation for re-use
3. recycling
4. other recovery operations, e.g. energy recovery and
5. disposal of waste.
Reuse
Reuse is a waste prevention measure and refers to procedures that allow the reuse of products or parts thereof which have not yet entered waste streams, for the same purpose for which they were originally designed.
We call upon all interested parties with project proposals for reuse to send an e-mail to: ponovnauporaba@mzoe.hr.
Guidelines for reuse in the Republic of Croatia(pdf)
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Municipal waste is mixed municipal waste and separately collected waste from households, including paper and cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, biowaste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment, waste batteries and accumulators and bulky waste, including mattresses and furniture, and mixed municipal waste and separately collected waste from other sources, if such waste is similar in nature and composition to household waste, but does not include waste from production, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, septic tanks and sewage and wastewater treatment plants, including sewage sludge, waste vehicles and construction waste, whereby this definition does not call into question the distribution of responsibilities for waste management between public and private entities.
Public municipal waste collection service implies the collection of municipal waste in the area of public service provision via containers from an individual user and the transport and handover of such waste to an authorized person for the treatment of such waste.
The provider of the public municipal waste collection service provides a public service.
The user of a public service in the area of service provision is the owner of the real estate or the owner of a special part of the real estate and the user of the real estate or a special part of the real estate when the owner of the real estate or a special part of the real estate has transferred the payment obligation to that user by contract and has notified the service provider or the actual user of the real estate.
Depending on the manner of using the real estate, permanently or occasionally, for residential purposes (owners of apartments, houses, holiday properties) or for the purpose of performing an activity or other purposes, the users of the public service are classified into the following categories:
1. household users or
2. non-household users (other sources of municipal waste).
A user of a public service who is not classified as a household is one who uses the real estate for the purpose of performing an activity, which also includes renters who, as natural persons, provide catering services in households in accordance with the law regulating the catering industry.
Separate collection is the collection of waste in such a way that waste is separated according to its type and properties in order to facilitate processing and preserve the valuable properties of the waste.
The executive body of the local government unit, i.e. the City of Zagreb, is obliged to ensure the separate collection of waste paper and cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, biowaste, wood, textiles, packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators and bulky waste, including waste mattresses and furniture, in such a way as to ensure the functioning of one or more recycling yards or mobile units in its area and the transport service of bulky municipal waste at the request of the service user.
Annual reports on municipal waste
BIOWASTE
Biodegradable waste from gardens and parks, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, catering and retail establishments and similar waste from the food industry. Biowaste is a valuable raw material for the production of quality compost and should be collected separately. The Waste Management Act stipulates the mandatory separate collection of biowaste. Separately collected biowaste can be composted in your own garden, yard or balcony (this is a waste prevention measure) or it will be taken over by a utility company and transported for composting in large composting plants.
WASTE TRADING
The activity of waste trading is the purchase and sale of waste, with or without taking possession of the waste, regardless of the method of sale, for the purpose of making a profit or other economic effect. The activity of waste trading includes the purchase and sale of waste for the purpose of making a profit or other economic effect through wholesale waste trading and retail waste trading:
• wholesale waste trading is the purchase and sale of waste carried out between legal entities and/or natural persons - craftsmen.
• retail waste trading is the purchase of waste from a natural person - seller carried out by a legal entity or a natural person - craftsman.
The waste purchase location is the space and vehicle in which the waste trader carries out retail waste trading.
SPECIAL WASTE CATEGORIES
Special waste categories are waste streams for which special management conditions are prescribed: waste textiles and footwear, waste packaging, waste tires, waste oils, waste batteries and accumulators, end-of-life vehicles, construction waste and waste containing asbestos, medical waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment, waste from titanium dioxide production, waste polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls, single-use plastics and fishing gear containing plastic.
Annual reports on the management of special waste categories
- Packaging and packaging waste
Packaging waste is any packaging that the holder discards, intends to discard or must discard.
Annual reports on packaging waste management in the Republic of Croatia
Additional information on packaging waste management in the system managed by the Fund
EE equipment (electrical and electronic devices and equipment) represents all products and their components that are dependent on electrical energy or electromagnetic fields as a primary energy source for their primary and proper functioning, as well as products for the production, transmission and measurement of current or electromagnetic field strength and which are intended for use at a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V for alternating current and 1,500 V for direct current.
EE waste (electrical and electronic waste) is EE equipment that the holder discards, intends to discard or must discard, including all components, subassemblies and consumables that form part of the product at the time of discarding.
EE waste includes, among others, large and small household appliances and information and telecommunications equipment.
The categories of waste EE equipment are:
1. Heat exchange equipment
2. Screens, monitors and equipment containing surfaces larger than 100 cm²
3. Light bulbs
4. Large equipment (any external dimension larger than 50 cm)
5. Small equipment (no external dimension larger than 50 cm)
6. Small information technology (IT) equipment and telecommunications equipment.
Annual reports on EE waste management
Additional information on EE waste management in the system managed by the Fund
End of life vehicle is any vehicle that the owner discards, intends to discard or is required to discard, including all its components and consumables that at the time of discarding form part of the end of life vehicle.
Annual reports on end of life vehicle management
Additional information on end of life vehicle management in the system managed by the Fund
A tire is a new or used tire and a rubber track, which is placed on the market in the Republic of Croatia as an independent product or a component of another product or set of wheels for; passenger, passenger and freight vehicles, including trailers, for forklifts, work machines, tractors, carts, bicycles, motorcycles, aircraft and other similar products. Waste tire is a tire that the owner discards, intends or must discard.
Annual reports on waste tire management
Additional information on waste tires management in the system managed by the Fund
Waste oil is mineral or synthetic lubricating oil or industrial oil that has become unsuitable for its original intended use, such as internal combustion engine oil and gear oil, lubricating oil, turbine oil and hydraulic oil, and which the holder discards, intends or is required to discard.
Annual reports on waste oil management
Additional information on waste oils management in the system managed by the Fund
Asbestos waste or waste containing asbestos is a hazardous waste that is composed of raw asbestos and any waste substance or object containing asbestos and asbestos fibers, asbestos dust resulting from the emission of asbestos into the air during the processing of asbestos or substances, materials and products containing asbestos.
Annual reports on the management of waste containing asbestos
The “Register of waste management activities” system is a digital platform that provides simple and transparent access to documents of permits related to waste management. It allows users to review the necessary permits for various aspects of waste management, facilitating the verification of legality and regulations in this activity and contributing to better control and environmental protection. All requests in the process of issuing permits for waste management, including the preparation of a waste management study, starting from October 1, 2024, are carried out exclusively through this system. Applicants must be registered in the application in order to be able to submit a request.
Forms
Informations/ Contacts
Regulations and international agreements
COMPETENT AUTHORITY
Ministry of environmental protection and green transition
Radnička 80
10 000 Zagreb
