National Legislation

Six new laws on waste management were adopted in 2021. These laws have been drafted under the twinning project “Strengthening the administrative capacities for implementation of Waste Framework Directive (WFD) and Special Waste Streams Directives (WEEED, WBAD and WPD)” (MK 12 IPA IB EN 02 16), conducted from 2016 to 2018. All laws have passed the public consultation process.

The Law on Waste Management, adopted by the Parliament on 17.09.2021, transposes the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) and The Landfill Directive (LD). The several sub-laws, which are envisaged in this Law, will enable for full transposition of the WFD. 

The Law on Waste Management settles the framework and provides general rules for all types of waste and provides the legal basis for the secondary legislation. The Law on Waste Management has important links to other Laws related to tasks and responsibilities regarding administrative, organizational and operational issues in waste management, in particular to the Law on the Environment, which includes basic provisions on Integrated environmental permitting (IPPC), EIA procedure and greenhouse gas emissions.

Five of the six new laws regulate the special waste streams. Two of them, the Law on electrical and electronical equipment and waste from electrical and electronical and the law on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators were adopted in August 2021, and additional 3 laws (Law on packaging and packaging waste, Law on additional waste streams and law on extended producer responsibility) were adopted by the Parliament during September 2021. The new waste legislative framework respects the circular economy principles and the provisions of the revised EU waste legislation that entered into force in 2018. These five laws are regulating the EPR schemes for packaging, waste from electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, waste oils and tires, waste textile and end of life vehicles. The frame Law is the Law on extended producer responsibility, where the obligations of the collective and individual handlers are regulated.