Albania

No Time To Waste

Tirana - Albania cannot hope to become a
major tourist destination unless it solves its
waste management problem. Seeing this, authorities
are wasting no more time in taking
action. Driving along the coast of the Adriatic
and Ionian seas from capital Tirana to southern
Betrint presents picturesque scenery, most
impressively the high mountains reflected in
the transparent sea of the southern riviera. But
a closer look reveals the destructive effects of
human activity. Piles of trash, comprising very
visibly beer bottles and plastic wrappers, are a
common sight on the coast, even in remote
pastures. There are not enough waste bins
along the way, or at restaurants.
Rapid increase in consumption
" One of the things tourists coming here complain
most about is garbage," says Kate Yarhouse,
working for Peace Corps USA for the promotion
of tourism in Albania. Albania's waste management
facilities were overwhelmed by the rapid
increase in consumption in the 1990s after the fall
of state socialism and the consequent opening up
of the country. Proper waste treatment systems
were not set up. Garbage collection facilities since
then have simply not coped with the mounting
waste. The sewage produced by Albanian cities
ends up, untreated, in the sea. Merita Mansaku-
Meksi, an expert in waste management working
for the Environmental Centre for Development
Education and Networking, warns that although
the water is largely safe for swimmers at the
moment, the situation is not sustainable.
" Not only is sewage water dumped into the
sea, but also used oil from restaurants and
industrial production, and this increases the
danger," Mansaku-Meksi told IPS. Arian Gace,
national coordinator at the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) Albania, says that most coastal
towns in the country now have plans to develop
sewage collection and treatment facilities.
Kavaja, close to Tirana, has already built a
modern system of sewage collection, with
financial assistance from the German KfW
Development Bank. But most municipalities are
still at the planning stage.
The country faces similar problems with
solid waste management. Traditionally, the authorities
have simply dumped trash into empty
fields close to the residential areas. Two decades
ago, when the rates of consumption and
waste production were much lower, the inappropriateness
of the method passed unnoticed.