Sustainable waste management in local communities and protected areas in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The modern way of life and aspiration for faster technological development creates increasing problems related to waste quantities and management. Waste management is a complex process due to the constant danger to the environment through pollution of air, water and soil as well as the human health. Lack of waste quantity, composition and location informations makes disposal and categorization process more difficult, as well as its recycling or reuse. Industrialization and development of modern society and irrational usage of natural resources increases the amount of waste, which creates the need for an organized approach to this problem. In order to resolve these issues, among other, the constant monitoring, implementation of legislation and increasing public awareness are necessary. This particularly refers to the collection of reliable data on the quantities of generated waste, and its disposal within the local communities and protected areas. There is no systemic organized waste management in the Republic of Serbia for the time being. However, there is the long-term strategy in the field of environmental protection, which implies improving the population quality of life and preserving the nature, where an important place has the proper waste treatment.

Keywords

• waste
• local communities
• protected areas
• environment