Centre of Competences meeting on urban waste management

On June 4-5th, DLDP organized a workshop with the Competency Centre on the issue of urban waste management. This event was attended by local experts of DLDP partner municipalities and communes, representatives from line ministries, as well as partner organizations that cooperate with DLDP in offering support packages for the sector. Present were also commissioners from Water Regulatory Authority (WRA).

This workshop took place in Velipoja beach and had as a main objective the presenting of results and findings from the four packages that DLDP supports in the urban waste management sector:

1.Model of costs and tariffs calculation,

2.Practices of recycling and social inclusion,

3.Inter-local cooperation practices and extending of service,

4.Individual and agricultural composting practices.

During the sessions of this workshop, participants were presented with the results achieved and recommendations that are suggested to overcome challenges in this sector.

As regards the improvement of the model of costs and tariffs calculation, it was suggested the introduction of the calculation system based on service zones with different characteristics within the same unit, responding to the challenge presented by the new territorial reform. This was also due to the capitalization of the DLDP experience from the practical implementation of the support for inter-local cooperation in local units of Malësi e Madhe and Puka.The need for more flexibility in the preparation of strategies for assets, providing more opportunities for selecting other assets based in efficiency, trucks with different capacity, such as 5t and 10t, there were introduced also larger capacities – 12t and 15t. Also, about the bins, apart from the classic 1.1 m3, there are introduced bins of 1.6, 3.2, 5.0 and 7.0m3 of capacity, for alternative use to increase collection efficiency. Other changes consist in re-evaluation of capacities to fill trucks and bins, based on the experience of some local units. This also brings closer to reality costing. 

On recycling, the use of plastic bags as container of residues is introduced. An important element in improving this model was also the extending of calculation modules with recycling and composting. The participants speaking on this subject, apart praising the presented model, suggested also the introduction of the element of city cleaning, such as sweeping and washing streets in the costs model, as well as finding a way to transfer this calculation model from the MS Excel file in a standalone application. Of much interest were the important support elements of Lezha municipality about the promotion of recycling and extending service in suburb areas. The engagement of the Roma community to increase the quantities of recyclable waste by giving the management of the centre to this community, as well as approval of the differentiated collection system, were two approaches that, supported by positive data presented by URI experts, were deemed favourable in the current context. From discussions it was recommended to strengthen the role of the municipality in this system, as the centre and regulator of the organization and monitoring of the service. Other recommendations were the introduction of door-to-door plastic bags collection system, as an efficient system that provides 450t recycling waste annually.

The feasibility study about a national recycling championship, based on the model applied in Shkodra, caused discussion as regards cost per unit and the way to be used to guarantee the sustainability of this initiative. From this analysis there were presented the identified cities that can produce sufficient waste quantities to achieve self-financing.

The two last sessions of the first workshop day had to do with the discussion on the draft-law to be presented in the parliament to extending WRA functions also related to solid waste sector. In this area sides were deeply entrenched on their respective positions as regards the authority that can make compulsory the use of a methodology for costs and tariffs calculation through the whole chain of waste management, from collection and transport, and not only their final processing. Two were the main positions. On one side, a group identified WRA as such an authority, while the other group favoured issuing this authority to line ministries by means of a compulsory act, without specifying which ministry, Environment or Transport and Infrastructure.

Discussions involved also the WRA commissioners, the representative of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, URI and Co-plan experts, as well as LGU specialists.

In the session that dealt with the presentation of inter-local cooperation practices, apart the presentation of Puka and Malësi e Madhe cases, there were also discussed the recommendations on how to integrate the service in the new units after June 21st elections, trying to respond to challenges such as service organization in new units in gradual fashion or swiftly, joint or shared contracting, same tariff or different tariff in different zones, and also how the service monitoring from the municipality or administrative unit will be.

The second day of the workshop was continued in Dajç commune. There were presented the two practices about the individual and agricultural composting carried out in Dajç and Puka. By comparing findings of each expert’s group, the participants had an opportunity to acknowledge pros and cons of each application. The presentation of positive experiences in Dajç, apart theoretical findings was accompanied also by a visit in one of the farms where this model is being piloted. During the Dajç visit, members of the Competency Centre had the opportunity to observe closely the commune premises and the way the One Stop Shop operates.