In the Republic of North Macedonia the waste is the second abysm and emitter of greenhouse gases and it is right behind the energy sector. From 2004 until today, the amounts of greenhouse gases from waste are constantly increasing. On average, in Europe waste contributes with a total of 3% of total greenhouse gas emissions, while in the Republic of North Macedonia this percentage ranges between 5.5 and 7. Most of the waste in the Republic of North Macedonia is accumulated at the legal and illegal landfills, which due to being overloaded with any type of waste they often burn / self-ignite, thus meaning risk to biodiversity, agricultural land and human health.
When it comes to plastics, a year ago, only those types of plastics that can be sold on the market were selected, i.e. PET plastic waste and in a very small percentage certain types of HDPE and PVC. But lately, there is a very low demand on the market or the price is so low that it is unprofitable for both collectors and processors to work with them. On the contrary, legal and illegal landfills are full of different types of plastic, including the above mentioned. The percentage of plastic recycling is very low.
The problem with the market creates difficulties for the companies with Licenses for Management, Transport and Treatment, where often significant quantities of such waste is accumulated in the waste treatment warehouses, or they are forced not to buy it. Thus the percentage of plastic recycling is very small.
The idea of this project, including the two parallel projects of the citizens' associations (ECO LIFE - Gevgelija and Eko Tim Istok - Kochani) and two companies with License for collection, storage, transport and treatment of municipal and other types of non-hazardous waste from Gevgelija (Bliznak-Kom ) and Kochani (Ekoproekt-Ko) that comprise two regions (Southeast and East region) to establish a system for processing PET plastic waste and opening of new markets for reused and recycled materials, i.e. the production of eco outdoor tiles by using 30 % PET waste and 70% sand, which will be marketed as a certified product.
Due to the high prices of the line (machines) for production of eco tiles that are not available on Macedonian market, in parallel throughout the two projects a set of line for eco tiles will be procured and it will be installed in the premises of Bliznak-Kom Gevgelija, thus including the collected PET waste from Kochani and Gevgelija within the production process. The project, i.e. the project idea is an example of a project successfully implemented and still functional in Armenia, which was initiated by GEF SGP.
At the same time, the associations can improve their capacities through exchange of knowledge and information, by sharing knowledge from previously implemented projects and activities. Eko Tim Istok, an association with experience in implementing projects in the field of environment shall be mentoring the newly created association (ECO LIFE) that has not implemented any projects independently.
During the implementation of this project, the equipment procured from a previous project financed by GEF shall be used. Namely a crusher machine, which was given by AECY Puzzle to Bliznak-kom DOO, will be used to crush the PET plastic waste for the eco tiles production.