Chapter 27: transposition of construction waste management legislation

The proposal of legislation transposing the Union acquis on construction waste management was drafted with the support of the PLAC III project.

Waste management is one of the areas of Negotiating Chapter 27 in which, according to the European Commission, Serbia should make additional efforts to improve the implementation of existing laws. The Law on Waste Management has transposed most of the EU Waste Framework Directive, but not its amendments (established by Directive 2018/851) related to construction and demolition waste. With that piece of legislation, the EU member states are required to take measures to prevent the creation of those two types of waste or to promote preparation for reuse activities. It is also required that they ensure the establishment of a system for sorting construction and demolition waste, and also that all activities related to construction must take into account the risks of exposure to asbestos. Asbestos has been banned in the EU since 2005.

At the beginning of 2022, Serbia adopted the National Waste Management Programme for a 10-year period, as well as the Action Plan for the Management of Construction and Demolition Waste in the City of Belgrade for the period until 2030. In order to implement these documents in practice, a legislative framework was necessary, as the instrument to l transpose the provisions of the new Waste Framework Directive. Apart from regulation the management of construction and demolition waste, new legislation should also regulate selective demolition and removal and safe handling of hazardous substances, including asbestos.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, project experts Dainius Kazlauskas and Vladica Čudić prepared an analysis of legal and institutional gaps in Serbia in relation to the new Waste Framework Directive and examples of good practice in the EU.

Kazlauskas and Čudić drafted amendments to the Law on Waste Management as well as a proposal for a by-law related to the management of waste containing asbestos. On 11 December 2023, at the workshop held in Belgrade, they presented draft legislation as well as the management of construction and demolition waste in Denmark, Slovenia, Lithuania and Ireland as examples of good European practice. An overview of legislative solutions is given for Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and Lithuania.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the line ministry.