Waste

The objective of the Environmental Programme waste treatment program is to develop the hazardous waste collection system to a level which covers all the counties and local governments, to develop the sorted waste collection and recovery infrastructure and to prevent and reduce environmental pollution caused by waste through the application of modern waste treatment principles. Cohesion Fund measures are aimed at the closure of ordinary waste landfills, the expansion of waste treatment centres, the recovery of waste, the closure of oil shale industry landfills and waste depositories and the renewal of the ash removal system.

In some cases, the activities supported from the two sources of financing overlap and that is when the cost of the project becomes the determining factor – smaller projects can apply for grants from the Environmental Programme, while larger ones are financed from the Cohesion Fund. The Environmental Program receives applications for grants every year (generally twice a year), while the Cohesion Fund holds application rounds on a more irregular basis and depending on the budget (for instance, no more application rounds are foreseen for some supported activities, as the funds intended for grants have already been distributed under the financing decisions made).

In addition to that, EIC mediates Cohesion Fund grants for investments important for the state, which means that no open application rounds are held for those measures and beneficiaries are determined in an investment plan approved by the Government. Those grants are intended for the oil shale industry and energy industry waste projects.