Croatia sets aside €3 million for a new round of illegal dump cleanups

Croatia has set aside an additional €3 million this year to help cities, municipalities and counties remove waste dumped illegally in forests and other locations.

The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund said more than 220 illegal dumps had already been remediated across the country. The work has cost about €24 million in recent years, with the fund contributing €16 million. Local authorities can receive up to €200,000 per site, covering 50% or, in some cases, 80% of the cost.

The fund is handling several larger sites at the same time. In Gospić, officials are preparing the cleanup of pollution linked to years of illegal dumping by Tipos Resurs at the former PPK Velebit site. Four bids have been received for temporarily covering buried waste, a preventive measure intended to limit rainwater seepage into the soil.

Officials are also evaluating two bids to remove about 4,500 tonnes of scattered hazardous waste near a silo and roughly 650 tonnes of non-hazardous waste stored in around 300 large bags. The most demanding stage will involve excavating, removing and permanently disposing of the buried material.

The fund said it had incorporated findings from an expert assessment commissioned by Croatia’s anti-corruption office, USKOK. It has also contacted international operators and companies specializing in hazardous-waste disposal and thermal treatment. Cleanup plans are being prepared for about 6,000 tonnes of waste inside buildings at the former PPK Velebit site, while decisions are nearing completion for sites in Samobor and Poznanovec. A plan is also ready for the former Istraplastika site in Pazin.

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The most demanding stage of the cleanup concerns the excavation, removal and final disposal of the buried waste