Second Environmental Performance Review of Albania

98 Part III: Integration of environmental concerns into economic sectors and promotion of sustainable developmentPhoto 7.1: Waste containers in TiranaHotspotsDue to the past industrial practice in Albania,problems with waste deposits from the past are apriority. The need to identify risks connected withimproper waste management in the past resulted inthe UNDP project Identification and Prioritization ofEnvironmental Hotspots in Albania (January 2008­August 2011), funded by the Government of theNetherlands. The preliminary list of hotspotsincluded 35 sites from which, in May 2010, 9 priorityhotspots were selected for assessment and thepreparation of remediation action plans. Theidentified hotspots areas are: Alba Film Studio in theeastern part of Tirana, the ex-Kinostudio; the batteryfactory in Berat; the Perrenjas mine site; buildings atthe Biticka mine near Korca; Dajti enterprise site inTirana; the tailings dam in Guri i Kuq on the shore ofLake Ohrid; the ferrochrome smelter in Elbasan; thepesticides dump in Rrëshen; and the textile factory inBerat.Independently from this project, action was taken onseveral other hotspots (Box 7.1). Table 7.4 providesan overview of the status of individual hotspots.Mining waste accumulationPast mining activities resulted in the accumulation oflarge quantities of mining waste, which presents asignificant risk to the environment. The NationalAgency of Natural Resources has reported volumesof mining waste accumulated in heaps and tailingponds (Table 7.5).MoETE, which is responsible for these deposits, hasprepared a plan of rehabilitation of sites containinghigher concentrations of copper by private sectorinvestors. The cost of remediation will be covered byprofits from the sale of copper.Medical wasteMedical waste is generated in a wide variety ofhealth-care facilities, including hospitals, polyclinics,health centres and ambulances. There is no record ofhealth-care waste generation, but according to thefirst EPR of Albania (2002) there were 51 hospitalsin Albania producing about 7.3 tons of medical andother hospital waste per day in seven cities. Thisamounts to 2,600 tons per year.Privatization in Albania created opportunity forprivate and state hospitals to provide services for thecollection and disinfection of hospital waste. Twocompanies, Mediatel and Euroteam, offer collectioncontainers and training for hospital personnel on theuse of these containers. These companies’ servicescover practically all of Albania. After collection,medical waste is transported to a treatment facilitywhere it is sterilized in a hydroclave and thentransported to a disposal site where it is disposed oftogether with general municipal waste.These 2 companies manage approximately 100 tonsof infectious waste per year. Considering thatinfectious waste represents about 15 per cent of totalmedical waste, they manage about a quarter of allinfectious waste generated in Albania. Sevenhospitals have in-house sterilization units and disposeof their waste independently.