CHALLENGES IN THE WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE TRANSITION PROCESS TOWARDS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Abstract: Large production of waste has become one of the world's environmental problems. Inadequate treatment of residential, commercial and industrial waste damages people's health and creates significant pressure on the environment, and valuable resources are irretrievably lost. A circular economy in which materials circulate and where the so-called zero waste has numerous advantages over the linear model, which is wasteful of natural resources. Policy makers and society in every country are called upon to face these challenges and develop solutions that are both technically appropriate and economically viable. Case studies in many countries show that an advanced waste management sector is able to meet these challenges. However, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the linear model of the economy is dominant compared to the circular model, and the development policy has not yet sufficiently recognized the circular economy as a possibility for future development. By signing the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, and accepted development and cooperation items that include circular economy. In the waste management system, as a key pillar of the circular economy concept, the linear approach of collection and disposal still dominates in BiH, instead of an integrated sustainable waste management system based on circularity. Most of the waste accumulates in landfills (over 90%) or ends up being burned in the open. The paper analyzes the main problems of establishing a sustainable waste management system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and includes the identification of problematic issues and the setting of future goals in the process of transition to a circular economy, with special reference to the issues of adapting human capital. Finally, we have provided some effective measures to further improve the waste management system in accordance with the principles of the circular economy.
engleski
2023
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Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 - Creative Commons Autorstvo - Nekomercijalno - Bez prerada 4.0 International License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
Keywords: waste management, circular economy, environment, sustainable development, human capital