In the entire Northeast Planning Region, the only waste treatment plant is in the Municipality of Kumanovo, which has existed for a long time, but the way in which it operates generates constant debts. There are still problems with the regulation of riverbeds in the region, the construction of pedestrian and bike trails. There should be constant appeals and measures should be taken for water purity. The problem is that young people are moving away, both for environmental reasons and poor green infrastructure.
Atina Murgashanska, as part of the Center for Development of the Northeast Planning Region, in a conversation for GREEN Civil, highlighted that in order to overcome these problems, intensive work is being done to strengthen public awareness among citizens.
“We are also working on specific projects for regional waste treatment and management. First, we worked on amending national legislation, then on regional and municipal documents in order to bring the topic closer to actors in waste treatment. Europe has invested significant resources, first in adapting legislation, raising public awareness through campaigns, workshops, educating the youth, the business sector…, and then in specific steps of waste collection, treatment and management”, said Murgashanska.
For the installation of a waste plant, space near the villages of Meckuevci and Arbashanci, Sveti Nikole has been designated. The process has still not started, and the reasons, according to Murgashanska, are perhaps lack of information, lack of education and insufficient work with citizens who firstly resisted out of fear that it might lead to a process of pollution, and the local self-government also had an influence, that is, the change of local government, local elections – that are slowing down the whole process. The project started in 2009.
We speak with Murgashanska also about the plans and perspectives for the Northeast Planning Region. She emphasized that education is continuous, from the youngest ones in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, all the way up to starting the process of waste selection in their own homes and its recycling.
“As a Center for Development of the Northeast Planning Region and the municipalities from the region, we are working on reducing heating costs, saving energy. By investing in energy-efficient facades, with new facades of schools and institutions, with a more cost-effective way of heating, alternative ways of saving are being sought, especially in the public sector, to avoid polluting the environment, we are investing in traffic infrastructure – more bike trails, a lower degree of fuel consumption, and a greater degree of use of public transportation, particularly in the winter months when it’s most polluted, with the purpose to enable clean air, a condition without which we cannot do if we want to meet the standards in an environment that aspires to be part of the European Union”, stressed Murgashanska.
Biljana Jordanovska
Camera and editing: Arian Mehmeti
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
The content is part of the CIVIL / GREEN Civil project “Give Me Five!”, within the framework of the great regional initiative to mark the Western Balkans Circular Economy Week (May 26- June 1, 2025) under the motto “From Local Fixes to Regional Impact”, implemented by the regional network LogEx, of which CIVIL is a member, upon the initiative of the reputable think tank organization Balkan Forum from Kosovo, and with the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund from the United States.
