The Federal Minister of Environment and Tourism, Nasiha Pozder, confirmed that on the eighth day after the publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the amendments to the Law on Waste Management will enter into force, which means that from now on in the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all those who illegally dispose of waste on landfills.
“This year, we provided 500,000 BAM in the budget for the rehabilitation of wild landfills, and since these are completely insufficient funds, we decided that this rehabilitation should be done for wild landfills within protected areas or areas whose protection is ongoing. One of such locations is Livno. There are about 130 illegal landfills in that area alone, and there is a huge tire dump in Kruzi. With the coming into force of these legal changes, that will no longer be the case,” Pozder told Fena news agency.
Essentially, the amendments to the Law on Waste Management relate to two important issues – the issue of dealing with landfills in municipalities and cities and the operational activities of inspections in the field, and penal provisions for special categories of waste such as tires, oil and the like.
“The adoption creates legal prerequisites for the correct and complete application of the Law on Waste Management in practice. Namely, the changes were initiated by the impossibility of punishing for illegal disposal in landfills, and the new Article 33a regulates this area, which will be defined in detail in the implementing act the drafting of which will follow after the entry into force of this Act. Also, the amounts of fines are defined according to the severity of the offense committed,” says Pozder.
The entry into force of these amendments was made possible by their adoption in both houses of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the legal text was agreed upon in the House of Representatives this week.
Pozder thanked the deputies and delegates for their commitment to ensure concrete legal regulations that better regulate waste disposal and criminal provisions for special categories of waste.
“We have adopted the Environmental Protection Strategy of the FBiH. It is also clear that the issue of waste management in our country is one of those that is far from resolved and regulated. We must learn to manage waste and not dispose of it and present a problem. This is of great value to developed countries. raw material, energy, and the area that employs, while in our country, unfortunately, this issue is primarily a burden on people’s health, but also on nature and budgets. We are legally improving this area in accordance with the standards and regulations of the European Union,” she said.
On this occasion, she announced that a public invitation and engagement for the person in charge of the preparation of the new Waste Management Plan in FBiH is expected soon, for which funds are provided in this year’s budget.
“This will be a document with which, I hope, we will be closer to solving the issue of waste management in our country, and we expect its adoption at this time next year,” said Minister Pozder on the occasion of the entry into force of amendments to the Law on Waste Management in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
