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Biowaste Management and Circular Economy: Usage of Pay as you Throw System and Autonomous Composting Units in Municipality of Probishtip

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Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is still a significant environmental problem for all Balkan and Mediterranean countries, under constant pressure from relevant EU legislation and public. In general, waste management services in the Republic of North Macedonia do not comply with national and international regulations. They are incomplete and contain only inefficient waste collection and poorly controlled or uncontrolled landfill, with no additional elements of advanced waste management as defined in EU waste directives. The municipal solid waste management continues to be a significant challenge in all states of the European Community and is an important element in the transition to a circular economy. An important aspect of implementation of the circular economy assumptions in the case of MSW is a plan for reducing waste amounts deposited at landfills and enhancing the share of waste, which can be returned to the system as material and organic recycling. In the light of soon expected establishment of regional integrated and self-sustainable waste management system in the east and north-east planning regions of the Republic of North Macedonia, in order to increase awareness by the local population and hospitality enterprises for source separation schemes of organic waste, as the largest producers of organic waste, University Goce Delchev and Hellenic Mediterranean University together with Municipality of Katerini, Municipality of Yermasoyia, and Municipality of Probishtip launched a joint project co-founded by EU, “Utilizing Pay as You Throw Systems and Autonomous Composting Units for Biowaste Management in Touristic Areas.” PAYT system and ACUs as innovative technologies for biowaste management involve source separation schemes of organic waste. The aim of this paper is to present the transfer and application of innovative technologies Pay As You Throw (PAYT) system and Autonomous Composting Units (ACUs) for biowaste management in Municipality of Probishtip, thus reinforce the system of circular economy (CE) in the Republic of North Macedonia.

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Acknowledgements

The paper was developed in the frame of the project “Utilizing Pay as You Throw Systems and Autonomous Composting Units for Biowastes Management in Touristic Areas,” co-financed by the European Union and National funds of the participating countries.

Funding

Project “Utilizing Pay as You Throw Systems and Autonomous Composting Units for Biowastes Management in Touristic Areas,” co-financed by the European Union and National funds of the participating countries.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences, Goce Delcev University, 2000, Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia

    Marija Hadzi-Nikolova, Gorgi Dimov, Dejan Mirakovski, Afrodita Zendelska & Nikolinka Doneva

  2. Goce Delcev University, 2000, Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia

    Vasko Zlatkovski

  3. Laboratory of Solid Waste & Wastewater Management, School of Agricultural Technology, Hellenic Mediterranean University - Educational and Research Committee, 71401, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Angeliki Maragkaki, Akrivi Papadaki, G. Sabathianakis & Manios Thrassyvoulos

  4. Katerini, Greece

    Katerina Poda

  5. Probishtip, Republic of North Macedonia

    Ljubica Naskova

  6. Yermasoyia, Cyprus

    Timos Misseris

  7. Pieriki Anaptixiaki S.A, 17b, 16th Oktobriou, 60100, Katerini, Greece

    Kostas Zapounidis

  8. Faculty of Economy, Goce Delcev University, 2000, Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia

    Darko Lazarov

Authors
  1. Marija Hadzi-Nikolova
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  2. Gorgi Dimov
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  3. Dejan Mirakovski
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  4. Afrodita Zendelska
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  5. Nikolinka Doneva
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  6. Vasko Zlatkovski
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  7. Angeliki Maragkaki
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  8. Akrivi Papadaki
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  9. G. Sabathianakis
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  10. Manios Thrassyvoulos
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  11. Katerina Poda
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  12. Ljubica Naskova
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  14. Kostas Zapounidis
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  15. Darko Lazarov
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Contributions

Marija Hadzi-Nikolova and Afrodita Zendelska: initiated the paper, developed the framework, and conducted the main research. Marija Hadzi-Nikolova and Nikolinka Doneva: contributed mainly with their expertise in Autonomous Composting Units. Dejan Mirakovski and Gorgi Dimov: contributed mainly with their expertise in Pay As You Throw. Darko Lazarov: contributed mainly with his economics expertise. Vasko Zlatkovski and Ljubica Naskova: contributed mainly with coordination with authors from neighboring countries. Angeliki Maragkaki, Akrivi Papadaki, Sabathianakis G., Manios Thrassyvoulos, Katerina Poda, Timos Misseris, and Zapounidis Kostas: review and suggestions.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Afrodita Zendelska.

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Hadzi-Nikolova, M., Dimov, G., Mirakovski, D. et al. Biowaste Management and Circular Economy: Usage of Pay as you Throw System and Autonomous Composting Units in Municipality of Probishtip. Circ.Econ.Sust. 2, 1283–1300 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00122-0

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