By the year 2020, the European Union should recycle 50% of its trash, however now, Slovakia stands at 30% only, said Lívia Vašáková, team leader of the economic team of the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia. According to her, Slovakia might thus be one of the 13 countries which will not meet the goal. Moreover, the European Commission criticizes Slovakia for its high number of waste dumping sites, a problem which stems from its low recycling rate. "In our hierarchy, preventing or avoiding the creation of waste is in first place. It is followed by recycling, burning and dumping in last position," said Vašáková. As she pointed out, by 2035 the EU aims to recycle as much as 65% of trash.
"The required changes in the waste industry will significantly depend on applying new legislation," read the documents of the European Commission. According to Peter Šimurka of the Slovak Environment Ministry, a draft of the amendment to the law on waste is currently in the interdepartmental review.
On the other hand, Pavol Alexy of the Slovak Technical University warns that plastic materials should not be replaced by more harmful materials. "Recycling plastics is not the same as recycling metals or glass. This material cannot be recycled forever," said Alexy, adding that banning single-use plastics could lead to an increase in the production costs and weight of materials. He also said that the question of what we do with the separated waste is also very important.
