Although no there was no separate waste collection in Slovenia until 2001, the town of Vrhnika has managed to transition quickly towards Zero Waste. How did this small area go from landfilling everything to recycling most of its MSW in 20 years?
AS they started on the transition, they quickly instigated a range of waste separation and innovative schemes, such as the pay-as-you-throw scheme, which was the first of its kind in Slovenia and now brings in around 30 tonnes a year of waste without the need for collection services.
Vrhnika has implemented a range of waste prevention measures, such as a reuse centre called DEPO on its collection centre site, to upcycle waste into desirable goods and recover items that would otherwise be sent to landfill. Objects are repaired, upgraded or taken apart for useful parts to be crafted into something else, then sold to the public at affordable prices. The centre has been a roaring success. In collaboration with Ecologists Without Borders, a crèche in Vrhnika has begun a pilot project to introduce reusable nappies for its little customers, to avoid sending disposable nappies to landfill.
An example of the impact of such measures, Vrhnika had a 201kg/capita of residual waste in 2004, and with concerted action has managed to reduce this amount to 80kg/capita in 2013.
They have also made efforts to change the public’s perception of waste as something dirty, smelly and not useful. It painted trucks white with flower motifs, cleaned bins regularly and created an attractive entrance to the KPV collection centre, with a park featuring lawns and flowerbeds. The nearby landfill site was rehabilitated.
They have also based their activities around a coordinated awareness- raising campaign, starting with Vrhnika’s youngest citizens – school children. They considered this the starting point for any change in citizen behaviour and attitudes. Schools were provided with bins and discounted waste collection fees for sorting their waste at source. Given the savings this system represents, all schools and nurseries in Vrhnika now operate a source-separation of waste system. KPV has held waste-themed events in schools, such as a waste fashion show, organised tours of the collection centre and held drives to collect specific types of waste in schools.
More information:
https://zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/zero_waste_europe_cs3_vrhnika_en.pdf
