Marko Tomljanović, Pavle Jakovac, Dejan Bodul

CITY OF ZAGREB’S MODEL FOR MUNICIPAL WASTE COLLECTION

Introduction

City of zagreb’s model for municipal waste collection. Explore Zagreb's municipal waste collection model, analyzing its challenges, economic viability, and legal framework. Highlights issues with apartment building billing.

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyse the model of providing the public service of municipal waste collection on the territory of the City of Zagreb. The level of public service that must be provided in order for the municipal waste collection system to fulfil its purpose, be economically viable and ensure the safety, regularity and quality of the public service is extremely difficult to achieve. A particular problem is posed by apartment buildings, where the spatial conditions make it very difficult to organize a sensible billing system in which individual users are billed according to the amount of waste produced. The analysis assumes that a fair balance must be struck between the interests of the individual and the community whereby the municipality has a certain degree of discretion in determining waste management measures. From a legal perspective, the decision of the City of Zagreb must be assessed in the context in which it was taken and the objectives pursued. The current solutions seem to us to be largely acceptable. From an economic point of view, we believe that the imposition of a contractual penalty on service users who separate municipal waste in apartment buildings due to co-owners who do not do so is not made on objective and justified grounds. Therefore, the existing legal solution or justification in relation to the objective and effect of the measure under consideration is not considered in accordance with the principles common in democratic societies. The authors’ tendency is to highlight the complexity of the problem through an interdisciplinary approach, to initiate a dialog on the quality of housing, the relevant role of the state, regional and local government and citizens, and on appropriate implementation mechanisms.

Review

This paper offers a timely and critical analysis of the City of Zagreb’s municipal waste collection model, addressing a complex and highly pertinent issue for urban governance worldwide. The stated aim to evaluate the public service provision from perspectives of economic viability, safety, regularity, and quality is ambitious and highly relevant, particularly in the context of increasing environmental awareness and the challenges of large-scale urban waste management. The authors appropriately highlight the inherent difficulties in achieving a balanced and effective system, especially when confronting the practicalities of diverse housing types and the imperative to reconcile individual responsibilities with community interests. The interdisciplinary approach promised is a suitable methodology for dissecting such a multifaceted problem. A key strength of the abstract lies in its immediate identification of apartment buildings as a "particular problem," where spatial constraints complicate the implementation of an equitable, quantity-based billing system. While acknowledging that Zagreb’s legal framework might be "largely acceptable" within its historical context, the paper delivers a pointed critique from an economic standpoint. The authors convincingly argue that imposing a contractual penalty on all residents in apartment buildings due to the non-compliance of some co-owners is not based on objective or justified grounds, thus challenging its alignment with principles common in democratic societies. This specific finding offers a concrete area of concern that warrants further attention and potential policy reform, making the paper's contribution particularly valuable. Overall, the paper effectively highlights the intricate balance required between regulation, economic incentives, and social fairness in municipal waste management. By exposing a specific systemic flaw – the disproportionate penalization in apartment buildings – the authors initiate a crucial dialogue on the quality of housing, the roles of various governmental tiers, and citizen engagement. This analysis serves as an important call for re-evaluation of current implementation mechanisms in Zagreb, and by extension, offers lessons for other urban centers grappling with similar challenges. The paper's contribution lies not just in its critique, but in its potential to foster more equitable and effective waste management policies that uphold democratic principles of individual responsibility and fairness.

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