Solid Waste Management Deep Dive : Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland and Romania - Sustainable Cities Implementation Framework (English)

This report will examine the MSWM performance in Romania, Croatia, Poland, and Bulgaria as these countries are not on track to meet upcoming EU Waste Framework Directive Targets. All four countries received early warning reports from the European Commission in 2018 for being at risk of missing the 2020 target of 50 percent preparation for re-use, recycling for municipal waste, with the next series of reports due to be published in 2022. In these countries of study, most collected waste is unseparated and ends up in uncontrolled dumps. Yet none of the four countries has developed plans to tackle this critical issue. The consequences of not meeting EU Waste Framework Directive targets can include fines, being taken to the European Court of Justice, risk of losing EU membership status, and more EU oversight and monitoring over the national implementation of waste management. Beyond these administrative and financial consequences, waste that is left unmanaged, dumped, or burned harms human health, hurts the environment, contributes to climate change, and hinders economic growth.