Waste-to-energy status in Serbia

Serbia is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. After eight years of strong economic growth (average of 4.45% per year), the economy of the country has been affected by the global economic crisis and Serbia entered the recession in 2009 with a negative growth of -3% and again in 2012 with -1.7%. Reserves of oil and gas are limited so the country is heavily dependent on the import of oil. The country's economy has been under serious strain and the balance of the country's budget has been deteriorating due to the oil import bill. Environmental pollution, the import of fossil fuels as well as the ever-growing demand for energy are the reasons why investments and developments of renewable energy source technologies, as well as waste management procedures are crucial. Since Serbia is in the process of joining the European Union, it is extremely important to develop an adequate system of waste management together with the development of society and economy as a whole. The waste-to-energy process is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable and has strong potential to produce energy from communal and industrial waste, which are currently unused resources. In addition, it is necessary to integrate waste management procedures with waste quantity reduction. In this study, an attempt has been made to give suggestions for better utilization of municipal solid waste in Serbia through comprehensive reviews of commonly used municipal waste practices as well as data on waste generation, types and the amounts of communal and industrial waste. By exploiting the energy potential of municipal solid waste the country can ensure sustainable development as well as energy security. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.