The story of Vrhnika

Slovenia

Array

Without a tradition of recycling and no national targets for separate collection, the municipality of Vrhnika in Slovenia (18,000 inhabitants) reached 76.17 % separate collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) showing how a small area can go from landfilling everything to recycling most of its MSW in 20 years. In 2004 the Municipality started implementing the first separate collection model in Slovenia in 5 steps:

  • Setting up the necessary logistics and legislative framework for the new separate collection of recyclable waste through a mix of door-to-door and eco-islands collection system
  • Introducing a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) scheme
  • Engaging the community with activities in schools and partnerships with local businesses 
  • Implementing a strong awareness-raising communication strategy to change the public’s perception of waste and encourage separate collection 

As a result, the municipality moved from 201 Kg/capita of residual waste in 2004, to 80 Kg/capita in 2013. Moreover, in 2014 the waste management company, KPV, opened 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 landfills.

Further questions?

Contact us if you want more information on the case study

CONTACT US

Other Best Practices

Learn from the frontrunners how a city can move towards zero waste

DISCOVER ALL

The story of Calatafimi Segesta

Italy

Calatafimi Segesta may be small, but it provides one of Europe’s leading examples of how an island municipality can implement an effective zero waste strategy whilst also focusing on improving the lives of the local community.

START

42,77%

Separate collection

NOW

85,74%

Separate collection

The story of Tübingen

Tübingen/Germany

The German city of Tübingen took the pioneering steps of introducing a city wide tax on single-use plastic items, which formed just one part of a wider strategy to foster reuse within the city.

START

Introduction of tax on some single-use items

NOW

15%

decrease of waste in public spaces

europe-logo

Supported by the LIFE Programme of the European Union. This website does not necessarily reflect the views of the donors.