North Backa and Banat to solve problem of disposal of municipal waste

In line with the modern understanding of waste as a resource and the need to protect the environment, Serbia has started systemically solving the problem of waste disposal. Eight regional and two municipal landfills have been built in the country where waste is collected, selected, processed and disposed of in line with the European environmental standards. One of the most complex ones is the Regional Landfill in Subotica, which will solve the problem of disposal of solid municipal waste for seven municipalities of Backa and Banat.

Twelve years after the founding of the regional landfill in Subotica, with the recycling yards in Novi Knezevac, Coka and Mali Idjos and the transfer stations in Backa Topola, Senta and Kanjiza, the facilities have started operating. The test run will last until mid-2020, and around 150 tons of waste is already processed each day.

– In the hall for the separation of waste, the municipal waste is sorted into recyclable parts and the organic part which is left on the rotating sieve and is then sent for composting the stabilization of waste – explains Sabina Benedek, the head of the Environmental Protection Department at the Regional Landfill in Subotica.

Inciting the solving of environmental problems in Serbia and bringing the country closer to the European standards of managing municipal waste, the EU invested EUR 20 million in the facilities in Subotica.

– The landfill in no way pollutes the environment. The methane is monitored and we have a system for biogas. We also have a system for filtering ground waters. That means that we don't pollute ground waters, the air, the environment and, of course, we preserve our health – says Csilla Goli, the director of the Regional Landfill in Subotica.

In order to recycle more than 5% of the waste, which is what's available at the moment, local self-governments plan to implement a primary selection of waste in households, that is, the two-can system.

– The blue can is for recyclable waste, and the green one for wet and organic waste, for composts. We are also trying to educate children in schools about this – says Zagorka Panic, the assistant mayor of Subotica for economic development.

Biogas and heating energy are also produced at the facilities in Subotica. In the future, they will be used as multipurpose ecological fuels.

Grad Subotica

Regional Landfill in Subotica

City of Subotica

Csilla Goli

Sabina Benedek

Zagorka Panic

disposal of solid municipal waste

recycling yards

biogas

ecological fuels

waste collection

waste selection