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Case Study
Municipal leaders see reducing waste as step to preserve town’s allure
Recycling to Lessen Tourism’s Impact
Photo: USAID/Montenegro/Brajovic Vesna
Cardboard arrives at a recycling center established with USAID and municipal support in Kotor, Montenegro.
A recycling project in Kotor, Montenegro, accomplishes its dual goals of reducing waste and preserving Montenegro’s environment, a focus of its tourism efforts.
Challenge
As Montenegro seeks to develop its economy with an emphasis on tourism, the preservation of the wild beauty that attracts visitors has been given priority. Yet, waste disposal is a growing problem in almost every region of Montenegro. Kotor, for example, has a picturesque walled Old Town, and breathtaking scenery with a fjord and the Boka Bay. However, as more and more tourists have discovered Kotor, consumption has risen, while the municipality’s ability to process the resulting waste has not kept a pace. Like the majority of coastal tourist destinations, Kotor sees its population swell in the summer, as tourists fill hotels and guesthouses and part-time residents return to their havens on the coast.
Initiative
To keep Kotor a favorite tourist destination, municipal officials realized that they needed to find a way to conserve natural resources while also reducing waste. The municipality and its public utilities company approached USAID to support their efforts to initiate a municipal recycling project, which it did. USAID constructed the recycling center while a private sector waste management company bought 150 specially labeled containers to be distributed throughout the municipality for plastic, paper and glass recyclables. The company also procured among other equipment a glass grinder; a shredder for hard plastic, metal and wooden crates; and a press for plastic bottles and aluminum cans. A strong partnership and effective cooperation between the municipality, the private sector and USAID were key to the project’s success.
Results
The project established a cost-effective and efficient method for collecting and disposing of the town’s non-industrial waste while also attempting to reduce the strain on overburdened landfills shared by multiple municipalities. In addition, it generated ten full-time and four seasonal jobs. Best of all, Kotor’s residents and guests can now contribute to a greener Montenegro simply by selecting the right containers in which to dispose of their waste.
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