Biowaste management in Slovakia goes local with the start of the new year

Municipalities are now obligated to provide the necessary tools for biowaste management to their citizens

All towns and municipalities in Slovakia have been obliged to sort biodegradable kitchen waste since 1 January 2021. The aim of the new legislative regulation is to improve waste management and reduce the burden on the environment. Kitchen biowaste makes up half of municipal waste, of which more than 60% is landfilled in Slovakia. Thanks to correct and responsible sorting, the amount of municipal waste produced, which ends up in landfills, should be reduced and ultimately prove to be a boon for the environment.

Joining together for a better future

One of the cities that is taking the new rules to heart is Zilina. The people of Žilina will be able to throw sorted bio-waste into special containers; for this purpose, by the end of 2020, 100 containers were distributed in the city, and in 2021 another 200 will follow. The use of kitchen biowaste is only possible if it is sorted correctly. It is therefore necessary to use exclusively biodegradable bags, which can be purchased in drugstore stores.

According to local authorities, it is forbidden to use ordinary plastic bags, as they degrade kitchen biowaste and eventually end up in a mixed municipal waste landfill, as has been the case so far. The sorted biowaste from the city will be transported twice a week to the industrial composting plant in Dolný Hričov. In the first step, harmful substances are neutralized from it and then natural compost, full of nutrition and minerals, is prepared.

People who live in family houses in Žilina will also sort kitchen biowaste. However, there is one difference in sorting waste in a block of flats. Residents of family homes can continue to use a composter in their garden for a large part of their kitchen biowaste.

In the city, starter packs will be available in the area of ​​the Municipal Indoor Swimming Pool Žilina (ul. Vysokoškolákov 8, entrance to the swimming pool - from the side of the area at the Farby-laky store) on working days from 2 pm to 6 pm. and on Saturday from 9.00 to 12.00.

The New Year's handover dates start on 11 January with the Vlčince housing estate, from 18 January to Solinky, from 25 January to Bôrik and from 27 January to the Old Town. According to the individual streets, the organization is always during the working week, while Saturdays are always set aside for those residents who could not come on working days.