Context
Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina's second-largest city, does not have well-developed wastewater and solid waste treatment services, and plans to renew its systems with the aim of having a positive long-term environmental impact. In 2016, Bosnian households produced a total of 1.24 million items of waste, an average of 354 kg/year per inhabitant. Although this is well below the EU average of 5,000 kg/year per capita, waste management remains a major challenge.
As things stand, the solid waste collection services covering the city of Banja Luka do not effectively cover the surrounding rural areas, and the sorting and recycling services in place result in very low averages: of the 1.24 million tonnes of waste produced in 2016, only 2.6% will be sorted and 0.5% recycled, compared with an average of 44% recycled in the European Union. What's more, 74% of the municipal waste produced was collected by a public agency, compared with an EU average of 90%, and 77% of the waste produced was deposited in landfill sites, compared with an EU average of 44%. As far as water management is concerned, in the absence of a wastewater treatment plant, wastewater is discharged directly into the Vrbanja and Vrbas rivers, and only 60% of residents are connected to the sewerage system.
Faced with these problems, the town, in collaboration with UPFI, has decided to implement a plan to modernise its infrastructure.
The project
The city of Banja Luka, in collaboration with the Urban Project Finance Initiative (UPFI), has decided to implement a modernisation plan focusing on two key sectors: solid waste management and wastewater management. Following an assessment of the city's current waste management situation, the renewal plan will be rolled out. The "solid waste management" component aims to improve the collection, treatment, sorting and recycling of household and industrial waste by renewing the existing infrastructure. The "wastewater management" component aims to purify the region's waterways and enable residents to live in a healthier environment, and will focus on setting up wastewater treatment facilities and renovating sewer and rainwater networks.
Expected impact
The project is part of an overall effort to improve the environment for the residents of Banja Luka and neighbouring municipalities. Its aim is to put in place ecologically viable urban infrastructures, and to renovate existing systems to improve the treatment of solid waste and wastewater.
The little extra
As well as taking steps to improve the efficiency of its waste and wastewater management system, the project also aims to raise public and institutional awareness of the issues surrounding environmental protection and waste reduction.
This initiative sheet was written by Mathis Kugel, in civic service at Let's Food in March 2023.
Last modification : 21 Jun 2023.
Municipality of Banja Luka
The aim of the sustainable waste management project is to set up ecologically viable urban infrastructures and renovate existing systems to improve the treatment of solid waste and wastewater in the Banja Luka region.