One Hazardous Waste Incinerator for Whole Herzegovina

30 July 2004

The Mayors of twelve municipalities in the Herzegovina-Neretva and Western Herzegovina Cantons participated in the presentations of the pilot-project of Waste Incinerator facility for the Herzegovina Region worth 40 million Euro, which should be co-financed by the European Union. This is an investment that, on the basis of it effectiveness, would be second only to the restarting of the Mostar Aluminium Corporation in terms of importance for Herzegovina.

According to the estimates given at the presentation in Neum, this project would solve the problem of waste disposal in Herzegovina, where it reaches catastrophic levels, for the period of one hundred years. The consequences of the existence of the illegal dump at Vihovici, in western Mostar, are felt by the whole region of the Neretva basin south of the city. The true scope of the catastrophe caused by the leaking of dangerous medical waste and chemicals into the river is hard to imagine. The similar situation prevails in the other municipalities, and they all gave their unanimous support to the project.

The project is, as was said in Neum, destined to succeed and to generate profits. The incinerator could also serve as a mini power-plant with installed capacity of five megawatts, and would open some 40 jobs.

Thirty percent of the total value of the project would be provided by the European Union funds, and the World Bank has pledged a favourable loan, which would need guarantees from the state. It is estimated that the project could cover its own costs and become self sustainable in five years. However, the first priority in the implementation of the project is to reach an agreement on the location of the incinerator, having in mind that local communities might be against the proposed location(s).

Earlier attempts to reach an agreement on the location for disposal of hazardous waste were refused even by some mayors in Herzegovina. Realistically speaking, the best location would be the area of Mostar. Studies have shown that the incinerator wouldn�t have negative effects on the environment. For instance, in Vienna, in Austria, the incinerator for hazardous waste is located in the downtown. The incinerator could also provide free heating for the city of Mostar.

In order to implement the project, a completely new strategy of waste management in Bosnia and Herzegovina is needed. The Council of Ministers should change the current strategy of dumping the waste and support incineration, which is already adopted practice in the EU.