We will install a model of sustainable development which will allow Serbia to profit from waste and use it as an alternative source of energy. This system will bring about the opening of new jobs, the reduction of unemployment rates, the reduction of gender and social inequalities of the marginalized groups, the inciting of employment of the young and the physically impaired.
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Serbia should strive for continuous economic growth, but such that apart from economic efficiency and technological progress, will provide the preservation of its natural resources and environmental protection. The essence of this development is based on the development and implementation of a sustainable development model that in a qualitative way satisfies the socio-economic needs and interests of citizens, and also removes and reduces impacts that threaten or harm the environment and natural resources.
Establish a system: In order to reduce the impact of waste on the environment it is necessary to establish a waste management system. This involves the definition of a solid waste management strategy that would respect the principle of prevention and reduction of waste and the possibility of using it as secondary raw materials and finding ways for its reuse and return to the consumer.
Tons of untreated waste: Serbia, for now, has only one functional sanitary landfill and with more than 4,000 illegal dumps (actually landfills) is at a very low environmental level. Annually, about 2.7 million tons of municipal waste is collected in Serbia, most of which is not subject to any treatment, but will for decades degrade and secondarily contaminate the human environment.
Waste as a source of energy, new jobs: By using waste as an alternative source of energy our society can achieve significant savings in terms of reducing energy consumption, and entrepreneurship in the field of waste management can be an opportunity for high job creation and profit through direct domestic and foreign investments.
Key principles to be followed in future in the field of recycling are:
- Waste hierarchy
- Precaution principle
- The principle ‘polluter pays’
- Producer’s responsibility
- Voluntary Practice
In the EU countries between 50 and 60 percent of collected waste is annually processed, while in Serbia merely 13 to 15 percent of waste materials is recycled.
Economic potential of recycling is manifested through:
- Market value of recyclable materials
- Savings in renewable energy, especially non-renewable natural resources
- Energy savings at production from secondary in relation to primary raw material
- Saving space (land), and less investments for the construction of sanitary landfills
Serbia, the land of organic food: Since the rural areas in Serbia are rich with ecosystems and biodiversity, priority must be given to conservation of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources such as water, mineral resources, forests, herbs, clean air and all other natural resources by using appropriate cropping. Serbia’s chance is also able to declare itself a region without the production of genetically modified food.
In the context of energy efficiency the use of crop residues in crop production is a potential that is completely unused in Serbia, although the use of renewable energy could make savings worth over 100 million Euros per year and additional income for people who would be involved in their preparation for use in households and economy.
Wind, water, and sun – unused energy sources: The degree of utilization of renewable energy sources is very low, except the use of large water flows in large hydro power plants, as the cost of using renewable energy is much higher than the cost of using conventional energy sources. Renewable energy potential in Serbia is more than 3 Mtoe (Million tonnes of oil equivalent) per year, which is about 25% of annual consumption of primary energy. Biomass potential is about 2.4 to 2.6 Mtoe per year (i.e. about 63-80% of the overall potential), of which about 1 Mtoe comes from the potential of wood biomass, and more than 1.4 Mtoe comes from agricultural biomass. The total annual amount of available wind energy for the entire territory of Serbia is approximately 2.4 x 10 ³ TWh. It is estimated that the technically usable energy potential of the wind in electricity production is about 0.38 Mtoe.
The total annual amount of solar energy for the entire territory of Serbia is 1.22 x 10 to the fifth TWh. It can be estimated that the technically usable potential for the production of heat energy is about 0.38 Mtoe per year.
Harmonize Ecology and Economy – Sustain Serbia!
