May 1, 2024 – Excess waste left behind by summer hoarding is causing problems. Some tourist destinations in Croatia, such as Šibenik, can generate as much as 400 tons of extra trash each month during the season.
As Ana Roksandić/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, last year alone 19.5 million tourists (of whom 17 million were foreigners) visited various destinations in Croatia. While such a steep number is amazing for the economy and GDP, we must remember that having so many people also means a lot of waste. One of the strongest assets that the country of Croatia has to attract tourists is the sheer amount of untouched and clean nature.
To achieve a consistent overall appeal, Croatian tourist destinations must be clean, organized and orderly. This requires a high-quality and efficient waste management system.
There is no denying that public services in coastal cities face much more work during the summer than in other seasons. Unsurprisingly, this created further problems for some, and led others to implement press boxes throughout the city.
In Crikvenica, the frequency of mixed municipal waste removal during the summer tourist season will increase from twice a week in winter to three times a week in summer. In other particularly stressed areas, waste is removed daily. In some cases, deletions may occur several times a day.
Smart trash bins for tourist destinations in Croatia
Karla Knejevic, vice president of the utility company Eko Mrvica, owned by the cities of Crikvenica and Vinodor, said: “Tourist areas must be clean and tidy, so the frequent removal of waste from coastal areas is “This is necessary, but it will significantly increase the cost of doing business.”
In addition to high costs, Crikvenica also faces problems such as a lack of seasonal workers and difficulties in training workers who do not understand Croatian.
Evidence that such a significant increase in the amount of waste means financial problems can also be found in Rovinj, which is working to reduce the amount of waste in the city. From 2017 to date, city authorities have managed to reduce the annual volume of mixed municipal waste in Istrian towns from approximately 13,000 tons to 9,143 tons. Of this amount, 2,356 tons came from tourism companies in the Rovinj and Bal regions.
Since August 2020, Rovinj has introduced separate collection of biowaste from kitchens and canteens, and this year this initiative has been extended to tourist camps as well. All of this is done to make a small contribution to reducing the total amount of waste. Last year, in Rovinj, the amount of municipal mixed waste decreased by 4% during the summer, but the amount of recycled and other waste increased by 25% compared to 2022.
“Despite the reduction in the amount of waste, the financial situation of the business remains difficult.Currently, the cost of waste disposal is 736,344 euros, while Rovinj-Rovigno Public Service is unable to return what it collects on the market. It costs only 23,851 euros,” said Cristina Gorozica, Rovinj City Council Information Adviser. Mayor’s office.
The biggest challenge in Rovinj is the lack of infrastructure within Croatia to further process waste and convert it into secondary raw materials. “This problem not only hinders the economic viability of the disposal process, but also limits the possibility of complete recycling and reuse of the material,” Gorozhka points out.
Municipal workers in Croatia’s other popular tourist destinations, such as Šibenik, Dubrovnik and Makarska, also have extra work to do during the summer. Last year, mixed municipal waste in Sibenik increased by 400 tons per month during the summer, and this year the amount of waste is expected to increase by 10 percent.
The largest sources of waste in Dubrovnik are hotels, catering and hospitality establishments, which also produce the most biodegradable waste. For this reason, Čistoća Dubrovnik has introduced the collection of biodegradable waste from the kitchen and canteen. Additionally, as there was a large amount of waste in the historic center, containers were distributed to catering and hospitality businesses to help manage waste volumes and billing processes.
Comparing this year and last year for the period from January 1 to April 15, the amount of waste in Dubrovnik increased by 4.5%. Therefore, city officials expect it to increase again in the summer, but not to exceed 3%. Makarska is a very strong tourist destination, each summer he achieves more than 1 million nights of stay. It really shows in the amount of waste that is left there during the summer. In this part of central Dalmatia, it can be up to four times as hot as during the coldest part of the year.
That is why in Makarska there is already a well-established pattern for all kinds of problems with a significant increase in waste. Makarska has also installed a smart bin with a press, which can accommodate seven times more waste than the capacity of the bin itself.
Smart trash cans are installed along the beaches and waterfronts as these are very popular places visited by many tourists every day. In addition, Makarska uses special vehicles for waste collection during the summer and employs more workers. In the busiest places, during the summer, a worker collects waste up to four times a day.
digital record
August is always Makarska’s record holder in terms of the amount of waste collected, as 1,200 tons of mixed municipal waste are collected in August alone. Since January 1 of this year, Makarska has been keeping a digital record of waste and conducting separate collection of waste at doorsteps using blue and green boxes and yellow bags.
After the introduction of digital records, the amount of mixed waste in Makarska has decreased, and the city believes that the positive trend in waste separation will continue during the summer tourist season. Waste separation containers have been installed in the most frequently visited locations, in the hope that tourists will follow the positive example of environmental friendliness that Makarska has already shown.
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