Solid waste management is one the most acute issues today. The continuous increase of consumption, population migration, and the overall economic development, not matched with a careful administration of the waste have turned those into a source of environment pollution and various diseases.
Albania recylces a very small part of the solid waste, another small part is buried and most of it is deposited in designatd areas an gets burned. This causes high pollution of the air that is being inhaled every day by the Albanian people. The situation is further worsened becasue the dangerous industrial waste is deposited in the same areas and mixed with the urban waste which causes a dangerous mixture.
Same goes for the hospital waste, which contain very dangerous chemicals and must be handled and destroyed in very controlled environments. Unfortunately the only hospital that has a machine for waste destruction and works only sometimes is the “Mother Teresa” Hospital (2009 Report by Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration, page 123).
The waste administration is a direct responsibility of the local governments. The high population growth of recent years has turned the management of solid waste into a real challenge for every city. The main problem stems from the fact that the waste is not separated in the first place. This makes recycling almost impossible. All the waste is deposited in designated areas which do not meet the technical criteria for the environment protection, and often cause fires. The smoke and gases releases not only pollute the air but also contaminate the land and water that is found nearby. There is also lack of policies for the protection of these waters.
The situation is not less concerning in communes. Here the waste is deposited in non-designated areas, generally alongside the rivers, or close to the roads. In most cases they are burned or even worse decomposed turning into sources of infection.
Urban and inert waste
The graph shows that there is a growing trend of total waste produced year over year. Urban waste increase has been constant, on average by 17% per year. 2005 has had the highest increase with about 60% more than 2004. High growth has seen 2006 and 2007 as well, whereas the later years show a “normalization” of the level of urban waste.
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration
Comments and analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)
Trend is somewhat different for the inert waste. If the urban solid scraps is somewhat administered from the standpoint of collection the inert waste have occupied every free section in cities entrances and exits. The situation is very critical in Vlora (entrance and Forest of Soda), Saranda etc. The quantity of inert waste is directly related to the growth of the construction. 2005 seems to have brought a change in the ratio of the two types of waste. Until 2005 inert waste was much higher than urban waste, whereas after 2005 the opposite is true. In 2009 the urban solid scraps is almost twice as high as the inerts.
Currently the regions with the highest levels of urban solid scraps and inerts are Tirana and Vlora.
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration
Comments and analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)
These two regions have traded places in 2004 and 2006, but still are far from the the rest of the country. Then comes Elbasani, Fieri and Durrësi.
All the data on Solid Scraps and Inerts over the years (in tons) is presented in the table below:
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration
Comments and analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)