The Regional Workshop of the Basel Convention Regional Centre in Slovakia Workshop on Waste and Healthcare Waste Management Dragan Asanovic, senior adviser Ministry of tourism and environment Republic of Montenegro

                                 Where is Montenegro? Exotic landscapes are not always distant and unapproachable. In the heart of the Mediterranean, divided from Italy by the Adriatic sea, this small republic is waiting for you. This little known republic is only an hour flight from Rome or Budapest, one hour and a half from Zurich, and then your Montenegrin adventure can begin. 620.000 INHABITATIONS 13.812 km² area Coastline: 293,5 km Longest beach:Ulcinj-13.000m Largest lake: Lake Skadar-391 km2 Highest peak:: Bobotov kuk-2.522 m Deepest canyon: The Tara River - 1.300 m

Environmental policy Declaration on the Ecological State of Montenegro, 1991 Ministry of Environment, 1991 Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, 1992 Environment Law, 1996 The Developmental Directions of Montenegro as an Ecological State, 2001 Economic Reform Agenda, 2003 National waste management policy, 2004 Republic-Level Solid Waste Strategic Master Plan, 2005 EIA Law*, 2005 SEA Law*, 2005 IPPC Law*, 2005 Waste Management Law*, 2005

* Government of Republic of Montenegro has adopted these 4 laws in December 2005 and they entered into force on the eighth day from the date of publishing in “Official Gazette RM”, No. 80/05. They shall be applied starting from January 1st, 2008 and from November 1st, 2008 (WML). Government decision .

Montenegrin legislation General legal framework The general legal framework for waste management is provided by the 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, the 1996 Environment Law and the 1991 Law on local self-management. The operational aspects of waste management are primarily regulated under two laws and two technical regulations: Law on cleanliness, collection and use of waste (OGM No. 20/81, 2/89, 19/89, 29/89, 48/91, 17/92, 27/94,) Law on the transport of hazardous substances (Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia No. 27/90, 24/94, 28/96, 68/02) Regulation on sanitary-technical conditions that dumps and locations for delivering feces have to satisfy, arrangement of dumps and locations for delivering feces and disposal of garbage and feces (OGM No. 20/83) Regulation on criteria for the selection of locations, the way and action for storage of the waste material (OGM No. 56/00 ).

Montenegrin legislation-cont Environmental law Until adoption of the Environment Law in 1996, waste management in Montenegro, as in many places, was considered primarily an issue of organising the responsibilities of local governments for “public cleanliness,” which is defined in Article 17 of the Law on Local Self-Management as a “public utility service.” The Environment Law empowers the Minister of Environment “to prohibit the disposal of any kind of waste out of the area specially designated for that purpose.” (Art 9(6)) and mandates the Minister to adopt rules on: “the disposal of waste with harmful or hazardous properties unless it is disposed at designated locations and subject to the approval grated by the Minister.” (Art. 10.1(2)) The Minister is also empowered to adopt rules setting: “criteria for designating a location, method and procedure for waste disposal.” (Art. 10.2)→►Regulation on criteria for the selection of locations, the way and action for storage of the waste material (OGM No. 56/00 )

Montenegrin legislation- cont Montenegrin legislation- cont. The Law on transport of hazardous substances The Law on transport of hazardous substances establishes conditions for transport of hazardous substances and operations which are related to the transport (e.g. packaging, loading and unloading). It defines hazardous substances in the annex. Hazardous waste is assigned to Class 9 (Miscellaneous hazardous substances).

Montenegrin legislation- cont Montenegrin legislation- cont. Law on cleanliness, collection and use of waste The Law on waste is a complex framework law focused on controlling waste management in the municipalities. It sets out the basic waste management obligations of the municipalities and of physical and legal persons – including companies and public utilities – to maintain the cleanliness of public and private areas and to manage waste for the protection of health and the environment. (Art. 1, Art. 19). The Law on waste requires companies and utilities to collect, classify, and manage the wastes from their activities by either reusing it or delivering it to other waste management companies. (Art. 21) It also prohibits the uncontrolled disposal of waste by “burning, digging or some other way” unless prescribed by special rules. (Art. 2) The Law on waste regulates the activities of the municipalities in the management of solid waste disposal on their territory. Article 86 of Waste Management Law (OGM,No. 80/05): “With the date of enforcement of Waste management law shall be terminated the Law on cleanliness, waste collection and use (“Official Gazette of Republic of Montenegro”, no. 20/81, 26/81, 2/89, 19/89, 29/89, 39/89, 48/91, 17/92, 27/94).“

Montenegrin legislation- cont. The Regulation on dumps[1] sets out the sanitary-technical conditions for disposal of waste and faeces to land, including (peripherally) hazardous waste. It also covers certain industrial wastes (defined as industrial dust, slag, ash) which should be stored for covering of roads, preparation of construction areas, etc. It is described in more detail in section 2.2, below. The Regulation on criteria for the selection of locations, the way and action for storage of the waste material [2] regulates hazardous waste separation, collection, transportation (also regulated by the LTHS), temporary storage, treatment, final disposal, notification, and monitoring of waste amounts and types generated and disposed of to landfill. It is detailed in section 2.3, below. The Law on public utility service[3] specifies that one of the municipal activities is the “maintenance of cleanliness in cities and other settlements” (Arts. 2, 3). This includes the collection and disposal of waste generated in the municipality (households, administration, commerce…), the cleaning of streets and other public areas, and the emptying of septic tanks. [1] OGM No. 20/83. [2] OGM No. 56/00. [3] OGM No. 12/95.

Environment Law (1996) Law on waste (1994) Regulation on dumps (1983) Regulation on hazardous waste (2000) Law on local self-management (1991) Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro (1994) Law of the State of Yugoslavia (pre-1994) - Law on transport of hazardous substances Apart from the general provision on recycling, there is no legislation dealing with medical/healthcare waste.

Montenegrin legislation- cont. Waste Management Law (OGM,No.80/05), Article 3: - Terms- Terms that are used in this Law have following meaning: “healthcare waste” shall mean waste arising in connection with the provision of medical services and the performance of scientific research and experiments in the field of medicine;

Montenegrin legislation- cont. Waste Management Law (OGM,No.80/05): Chapter 6, Special principles of managing certain types of waste, Article 51 - Healthcare and veterinary waste- Government authority responsible for health, in agreement with competent government authority shall lay down, by way of a regulation, the types of healthcare waste of which the recovery shall be prohibited, as well method of healthcare waste management and conditions of disposal. Ministry ordinance - healthcare waste management DRAFT

A comparison of medical waste categories according to EU Waste Catalogue and WHO

Healthcare Waste Forecast Waste generation That no measurements of healthcare waste (HCW) generation have been undertaken in Montenegro. For the calculation of the future generation of HCW the population growth must be considered. Medium and long term waste forecast Therefore the following estimation of amounts of healthcare waste for the medium term period, year 2009: (source:Republic-Level Solid Waste Strategic Master Plan Republic of Montenegro estimate of population growth related to generation of HW - an increase of 4.5% in population growth for a period of 12 years) RM-recoverable and recyclable materials; MW-waste similar to municipal waste; HW-healthcare waste; HW=GHW+SHW; GHW-general healthcare waste; SHW-special healthcare waste

Healthcare Waste Forecast Waste generation The estimation for healthcare waste for the long term, year 2024: (source:Republic-Level Solid Waste Strategic Master Plan Republic of Montenegro estimate of population growth related to generation of HW - an increase of 4.5% in population growth for a period of 12 years) RM-recoverable and recyclable materials; MW-waste similar to municipal waste; HW-healthcare waste; HW=GHW+SHW; GHW-general healthcare waste; SHW-special healthcare waste

Management of healthcare waste Management Plan outlines: Waste categorizations criteria; Policies on waste handling and transfer, setting out the arrangements — with sufficient investment in suitable equipment; Appropriate arrangements for storage, transportation and disposal of clinical waste which are both cost effective and flexible enough to adjust, so far as possible, to future changes in regulations and demand; Satisfactory methods by which healthcare waste can be rendered safe in a manner consistent with environmental protection.

Thank you for your attention Ministry for Tourism and Environmental Protection asanovicd@mn.yu