Committee on Natural Resources/Minister of Environment presents the draft law on waste management

2025-10-14 10:28:00, Politikë CNA

Committee on Natural Resources/Minister of Environment presents the draft law on

Sofian Jaupaj

The Committee on Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Sustainable Development is holding its next meeting, where the draft law "On Integrated Waste Management" is on the agenda.

The Minister of Environment, Sofjan Jaupaj, at the start of the meeting, presented the draft law, which he said was created after 3 years of work in collaboration with experts from the European Union and the Swedish government.

According to him, the draft law reflects European standards in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 27, the most important for the country's European integration.

The Minister stated that with the new management model, waste will become a resource for the economy. Jaupaj stated that the completion of all investments in waste treatment will be by 2028.

"The draft law on integrated waste management is a fundamental act for the environmental future. It is not a draft law written only by the Ministry of Environment, but is the fruit of 3 years of intensive work carried out in cooperation with EU experts and the Swedish government. Naturally, financial and institutional expertise from international partners. In 3 years, several rounds of discussions, public and institutional roundtables have been held and the draft law reflects the highest EU standards in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 27 on the environment and climate change. This is the most important chapter for European integration.

The EU report has highlighted the need for a new legal framework for waste management. The law we currently have in force is 34% aligned with European Union directives. In the last decade, landfills have been built in several regions of the country according to EU directives. The challenge currently remains the reduction of the amount of waste at source, a process that is not only related to technology and infrastructure, but also to the culture of citizens and business.

The proposed draft law creates a legal and institutional infrastructure that will meet European standards. Through the organization of the territory into 10 management zones, it creates the conditions for major infrastructure investments, opens access to European funding mechanisms and sets a new standard in local cooperation.

"Through the draft law, we promote from a linear 'try, use, throw away' model to a circular economy from which waste becomes a resource for the economy. The draft law creates the national operator for waste treatment that will coordinate the entire national waste treatment system. The expected finalization of all investments will be by 2028. The draft law makes a clear division of management responsibility at the local and central levels," the minister said, among other things. /CNA