Context
Albania was granted EU candidate status in 2014. As part of its process towards EU integration, it is working to align its environmental standards to those of the EU. As such, 2020 saw Albania reach mid-level transposition progress of 48 per cent for Chapter 27 of the EU acquis, which is titled “Environment and Climate Change”.
Albania processed approximately one million tonnes of household waste in 2019. Some 78 per cent of this was treated in landfills and disposed of with varying degrees of environmental control. About 19 per cent was segregated for recycling. Organic waste, which is about 50 per cent of disposed waste, leads to methane generation, a potent greenhouse gas. Landfill gases and leachate pollute both water and soil, endangering agriculture and drinking water supplies.
Albania’s waste-management practices are still dominated by a linear collect-and-dispose approach instead of integrated sustainable waste-management. However, the recently adopted National Waste Management Strategy (2020 – 2035) has developed a roadmap towards integrating the principles of the circular economy and extended producer responsibility.
The concept of the polluter-pays principle is not currently well developed in Albania and the costs of providing a basic minimum standard of waste disposal are recovered in only a few cities.
Objective
Albania is adopting the principles of the circular economy and introducing integrated waste-management systems thus bringing it closer to implementing EU standards relevant to the environment and climate change.
