THE IMPORTANCE OF RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN CROATIA

Natural resources are a source of raw materials, energy, food, water and land. They are also a source of environmental and social services such as green spaces, sewage services, waste disposal, etc. In order to achieve sustainable use of natural resources and the utilization of valuable raw materials from waste, it is essential to establish monitoring and communication frameworks. This set-up is critical for an efficient flow of materials through the economy. By applying Economy-Wide Material Flow Accounts (EW-MFA) and the relevant set of indicators, governments and businesses could improve resource productivity (RP) to assure adequate supply of resources for the economy and to minimise adverse environmental effects associated with their extraction, processing, use and disposal. To achieve such progress in Croatia, this paper presents relevant indicators that bring together trends and recommendations. The focus of this research is a comparative analysis of RP in Croatia from the EU-27 perspective. In the context of economic growth, authors investigate trends in domestic material consumption (DMC). Furthermore, the analysis of municipal waste (MW) management in Croatia is also presented with the aim to explore efficiency of separation of valuable materials. The results show that Croatia achieved an RP level below the EU-27 average. Although the absolute decoupling of economic growth from material use is evident at the EU-27 level, relative decoupling is prevalent in Croatia. To improve RP and to induce a transition towards circular economy, sustainable MW operations are carried out, with limited success on a regular basis. Although Croatian residents produce larger amounts of MW, recent data show that MW quantities disposed to landfills have been significantly reduced. This is ultimately a positive trend since some useful secondary raw materials are reprocessed and returned to the economy. To improve RP in Croatia, it is necessary to reduce DMC with a stronger commitment to sustainable waste management practices. In addition, horizontal measures of circular economy are essential, such as eco-innovative solutions in the production and education on environmentally friendly consumption patterns where recovered quantities of valuable materials should be increased.