Second Environmental Performance Review of Albania

Chapter 7: Waste management101Table 7.5: Mining waste accumulation, m 3Waste Ore heaps Tailings damsChromium 11,027,100 1,470,000Iron-nickel 2,094,800 196,100Copper mining 5,582,400 4,054,800Source: National Agency of Natural Resources, 2007.Box 7.1: Successful clean-up of hotspotsThe complexity of Albanian hotspot clean-up projects can be demonstrated in the former Durrës chemical plant in PortoRomano, which was declared an environmental disaster area. Until its closure in 1990 the plant produced sodiumdichromate for leather tanning, pesticides such as lindane (gamma-HCH) and thiram. Pollution from these processesheavily contaminated an area that includes the former plant, a nearby dumpsite and abandoned chemical storage facilities.Several thousand citizens were estimated to live in and around the plant's contaminated zone.Significant soil and groundwater contamination was occurring in several locations. The area of most immediate concern wasthe site of the former plant. The grounds were severely contaminated with lindane and chromium salt residues. Agroundwater sample from a water well showed 4.4 mg/l of chlorobenzene, over 4,000 times the acceptable level for drinkingwater in some EU countries. A sample of milk from a domestic cow showed beta-HCH isomer concentrations 100 timeshigher than acceptable EU thresholds. Soil samples showed extremely high HCH isomer concentrations, in the range of1,290 mg/kg to 3,140 mg/kg.Chromium contamination of groundwater supplies was another major concern. Soil contaminated by chromium and otherwastes has been dumped near the former factory, and there were no barriers to prevent leaching of contaminants to thewater table below.A second site of concern was a nearby wetland that has been used as a dumpsite. Separated from the Adriatic Sea by aroad, the site contained about 20,000 tons of toxic wastes including lindane and chromium-rich residues.A third area of concern was a storage site located approximately 1.5 kilometres from the former plant. The storage siteconsisted of three buildings that contained approximately 370 tons of chemicals. Based on site inspection, these includedlindane, methanol, carbon sulfite, sodium dichromate, monomethylamine, and di-methylamine. The chemicals were leakingfrom corroded steel barrels and bags.As part of the remediation process, the lindane-contaminated soil was deposited in a confined disposal facility (controlledlandfill) constructed on site with bottom and top liners. Specific health and safety measures were taken during the demolitionof old buildings and excavation and disposal of contaminated soil to avoid hazardous exposure of the workers.The clean-up of the former contaminated site of Porto Romano in Albania was completed on 1 July 2011.There were also few pesticide storehouses still in useand the rest are used for other purposes; however,most of them are empty or useless. Clean-up of theseobjects and territories was completed in 2011.7.3 Financing of waste managementFees for collection of MSW and similar waste are setby municipalities and increased on an annual basis.These fees reflect the financial possibilities based onpopulation and range from 4,500 lek (some €32.45)per household per year in Tirana and 1,000 lek (some€7.2) per household per year in other major cities to300 lek (some €2.20) per household per year insmaller municipalities. Although the fees forindustries are relatively high, up to 200,000 lek(some €1,441.2) per year in Tirana and typicallyaround 10,000 lek (some €72) per year (but varyingaccording to the size of the business), the financingof waste management is not sufficient, covering onaverage 35-60 per cent of needed revenues;municipalities balance payments to collectioncompanies from their own budgets. The sum of wastefees paid by users of MSW collection servicesreached €7.5 million in 2009.Industrial companies are using their own wastedisposal sites and the cost of industrial wastemanagement is included in overall companyexpenses.Due to widespread dumping in dumps without anychecking of incoming vehicles, waste managementcosts cover only the operating costs of collection.Capital investments needed for infrastructuredevelopment are provided from the Governmentbudget via MoPWTT and from international donors.Table 7.7 provides an overview of the MoPWTTbudget for environmental infrastructure, includingfunds from foreign donors.The budget does not seem to be sufficient, as theSharra landfill in Tirana alone needed a €6 millionloan to finance its development. Similarly, hotspot