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Current AffairsIs the importation of foreign waste really a good idea?
Until now the importation of foreign waste for disposal to the Czech
Republic has been strictly banned - though there was an appeal to change
the law on waste disposal before. In 1999 it was MP Jiri Drda, of the
centre-right Civic Democrats, who put forward a proposal in Parliament
recommending the Czech Republic make an exception in the import of waste,
a proposal that was overwhelmingly voted down. The result was not entirely
a surprise. At the time Mr Drda was not only a member of Parliament - he
was also the chairman of the local incineration plant in his constituency
of Liberec, raising questions over conflict of interest. Perhaps even more
than that, after years of ecological devastation in Czechoslovakia under
the communist regime, the idea of importing waste from neighbouring
countries could only be seen as an ecological backwards step.
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MagazineMagazine
A historic Czech town debates whether or not to build a gallows on its main
square, why don't more Czechs sort garbage and will St. Valentine's day
take root in the Czech Republic? Find out more in Magazine with Daniela
Lazarova.
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Central Europe TodayHousehold waste management
The recovery and recycling of household waste leaves much to be desired in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Preparations for EU membership have seen all three post-Communist Central European countries struggle to meet EU requirements, although they have now provisionally closed the environment chapter. Limited transitional periods, however, have been granted where a substantial adaptation of infrastructure was required or where large amounts of investment needed to be spread over time. The Czech Republic and Hungary have until 2005, Poland until 2007, to launch an environmentally friendly system of recovering and recycling plastic, paper and glass. More
