The Integrated Waste Management and Circular Economy Forum convened today to take stock of the one-year activity since the launch of a clean-up campaign in the cities throughout the country as an incontestable with the aim of further promoting the waste recycling and composting models, already set as good examples in some municipalities across Albania.

 

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Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks:

Hello everyone!

I will try to be as concise as possible, something I do not always succeed in, but I think that previous speakers somehow touched upon the main discussion points of this whole issue we have been dealing with for some time now and to which we have placed extraordinary attention, especially since the first day of the launch of this clean-up campaign.

Good positive bases have been really laid, but, on the other hand, the need to move a lot faster forward is really exceptional.

What is worth reiterating is the fact that around 50% of the waste littered the roads, streets and our cities before we embarked on this path, with waste and thrash ending up in rivers and streams or incinerated in a widespread practice of open waste burning and local residents in Tirana’s Kombinat neighbourhood, in Elbasan or Fier know quite well what I am talking about, as situation is absolutely different now. However, I am convinced they still remember what used to happen with the huge piles of waste in their areas, causing terrible air and soil pollution at the end of the day.

If 50% of the waste littered the roads and were transformed into toxic and harmful waste for local residents, we now collect and process around 90% of them and a small part of them remains still uncollected. However, although it is just a very small part, we need to tackle it as a grave problem.

Incredible work has been done during the last year and such effort was materialized with an exemplary tourist season this year in terms of cleanliness through a fresh redesign of the relation between the central government and the coastal municipalities, as well as very serious commitment of the mayors of these coastal cities and towns, with Himara being worth highlighted. I don’t see Himara Mayor and I don’t know whether he is attending this meeting.

I would like to point out Himara as a success story and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is not attending, because he has been always participating whenever he has been publicly criticized. However, Himara has set an incredible example of a somehow great awakening of the Mayor and an excellent work that is an example to be embraced by everyone now, showing how important such a relation is, as well as how important is for everyone to accomplish their assignments and tasks and how important is to build a positive relation with all the components and local stakeholders, with Lezha municipality being at the forefront of this effort and has been embraced by many others.

The resort lake town of Pogradec has been an area in a deplorable state in terms of the visual conflict between nature’s wonder and the waste littering the streets. Pogradec is now a reflection of cleanliness.

Kamza, once the dramatic embodiment of dirtiness, is now a reflection of cleanliness.

The same goes for Gjirokaster and Elbasan. Elbasan is now clean, not only for the fact that thanks to the waste treatment plant was built there and an extremely polluting and toxic landfill, just a few steps outside the central city, was removed and the whole black plume of smoke rising from the daily burning of the waste and trash, but also thanks to organizing and expanding the waste collection and treatment service throughout the territory of the municipality, without limiting it to the urban area only.

However, all these municipalities can’t still match with small municipalities of Cerrik and Saranda that are not just one, but many steps ahead in terms of what remains a serious issue, namely the waste recycling to extract the highest possible economic product from recycling.

Cërrik has set a model that has to be followed by everyone.

Same applies to Saranda municipality, a previously and traditionally example of chaos, dirtiness, the mess and everything else running counter the ambition to become a tourist gateway to Albania, a municipality that has inspired so many negative media and news stories about Albania over the years. Saranda today is a national champion for recycling. Of course, it could sound irritating always ranking the municipality of Lezha on top, something that reminds everyone the former profession of Lezha Mayor, I would like to draw his attention and tell him that they should not limit to cleaning only, but embark on waste recycling and composting both in the urban and rural areas.

Expressing gratitude to all mayors for their extraordinary contribution to a successful tourist season this year and voicing confidence that this would also encourage everyone that tremendous changes have taken place in this respect in many municipalities across the country. I am not naming them, but certain municipalities have yet to deliver as the situation is somehow more negative. I am not naming them, yet I would like to note that Shkodra Mayor is not attending the meeting, but we see that there is an effort going on and we see an approach change although the environmental situation in Shkodra is quite critical.

Thank you very much!