Visits of the regional centres for waste management
Last week, between 26 and 30 September 2011, Government Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy (GOSP) organized guided tours of the regional centres for waste management, co-financed by the European Cohesion Policy funds. More than 550 visitors of the centres in Puconci, Celje (including the Heating Station), Novo Mesto, Ljubljana, and Koroška were able to see for themselves how the EU funds contribute to a cleaner environment.
The representatives of the regional centres presented the organization and operation of each centre – among other things the visitors also learnt what happens to waste when it are taken out of their home. Responsible waste management is of key importance for the quality of life of each individual and society as a whole. The representatives of the centres pointed out that the volume of waste is being greatly reduced due to the increased separation and procession of waste, but a significant part of municipal waste that cannot be collected separately still remains. These wastes are processed by the regional centres before the deposition which reduces the amount of waste dumped in landfills. This and other measures (treatment plant for waste water, capture and exploitation of landfill gas generated from the breakdown of biological waste to produce electricity, etc.) minimize the negative impacts on the environment and contribute to its protection.
A vast amount of the EU funds is meant for the improvement of infrastructure and the care to ensure a safer, cleaner, healthier and better environment. In the framework of the Operational Programme of Environmental and Transport Infrastructure Development (worth 1.57 billion Euros), which is the basis for drawing on the funds from the Cohesion Fund in particular and in a lesser extent the European Regional Development Fund, more than 155 million Euros is meant for the construction and upgrade of such centres. By September 2011, decisions for six such projects were issued totalling over 254 million Euros, of which more than half, or almost 137 million, was co-financed by the European Union.
The Regional Centres for Waste Management in Koroška and in Celje were also visited by the representatives of the European Commission. The Head of the Division for Slovenia and Austria at the Directorate General for Regional Policy, Georgios Yannoussis, said that Slovenia is successful in drawing on the EU funds.
