BRD is considering a loan of up to EUR 10.0 million to EKOPLUS , the Regional Waste Management Company to finance development of the City of Rijeka Regional Waste Management Centre (RWMC) in accordance with national and EU standards. EKOPLUS is majority owned by Primorsko-goranska County and the City of Rijeka.

The RWMC will include construction and operation of a mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) facility and a new fully enclosed landfill. MBT will recycle waste, produce refuse derived fuel, generate biogas (to be used to produce electricity), while reducing the amount of waste to be finally disposed in the new landfill. Currently used non-compliance landfills in the County will be closed in the second phase of the Programme and transfer stations will be built instead. TC Funds will be sought for project preparation and for obtaining grant investment financing from ISPA.

The loan has passed concept review and will be considered for final approval in May.

Municipal waste management in Croatia is undergoing a radical transformation from decentralised disposal of non-treated waste on numerous local sub-standard landfills within counties to centralized waste management at Waste Management Centres (WMC) serving needs of one county, or, in some cases, of several counties. The WMC concept has been adopted by the  Croatian Government in its National Waste Management Plan.

At the moment in Primorsko Goranska County (PGC) municipal waste collection and disposal activities are performed by 9 municipal companies on 10 official landfills. Under such circumstances PGC has also defined strategy for establishing of integrated waste system and establishment of the CWMC Marišćina is main objective of the strategy.

PGC selected the location “Marišćina” in the Municipality of Viškovo as the most appropriate site for the future CWMC. The Final Environmental Impact Assessment Study was conducted in 2001. Based on the EIA, Marišćina, as the best location for the future CWMC was adopted in County Physical Plan and County Waste Management Plan. Public Utility Company Ekoplus Ltd has been established in year 2001 by the County for waste management at the County level. From that time numerous of technical documentation has been preparedand land acquisition at the site Marišćina is performed by Ekoplus Ltd . 

EBRD