Circular Economy in the Western Balkans region: Waste Management as a Challenge

The past 150 years of industrialization have been characterized by a linear economic model relying on the principle of ‘take-make-waste’. This model has fostered increased dependency on scarce resources, resulting in both environmental degradation and egregious amounts of waste. To counter these far-reaching consequences, the development of circular economy, based on the principle of reduced resource use, has become nothing short of a necessity.^[1] By committing to this principle, circular economy is aimed at minimizing the use of resource inputs, carbon emissions, and the creation of waste. This results in the creation of closed-loop systems through consistently reusing, resharing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, and recycling.

This introductory research on the circular economy of the Western Balkans aims to inform a broad audience, beyond the communities of practitioners engaged or already familiar with its innerworkings.

It seeks to address stakeholder interaction with the circular economy from not only a policy-oriented professional perspective, but one geared toward individuals and organizations unfamiliar with the concept.

This regional overview is the first out of four publications tackling the circular economy in the Western Balkans region, soon to be published by The Balkan Forum.

Find below the link to the pdf version of the research.