IFC: Recycling industry is profitable and a source of new jobs

TIRANA, June.4 – “The recycling business is profitable and currently has a relatively considerable weight in the total industry picture in Albania .” This conclusion was made by Irena Gribizi, head of the program, “Function Chain of the Recycling Industry” led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), office of Albania . This program will last three years and is financed by the Austrian finance Ministry in collaboration with IFC. It aims at the continuing development of the recycling industry in Albania where the environmental situation and the capacity to treat urban waste has deteriorated. The main coordinators of this problem have focused attention on the fact that the recycling industry is considered, worldwide, as a solution to environmental problems as well as a new industry that can help create jobs. There are some 100 recycling companies that operate in Albania with a collective annual revenue figure of $ 100 million. According to the studies conducted by IFC, the recycling industry in Albania lacks the necessary competitive concepts and management strategies to survive in the modern business market. IFC has also organized several workshops and training sessions for recycling industry managers, staff and other experts in the field. This project includes agreements and memos about cooperating in the field, as well as the achievement of organizing all companies in one association. IFC has targeted individual waste collectors and recycles by contacting some Roma organizations and seeking agreements with them to provide assistance to communities who depend on this trade. The Function Chain of the Recycling Industry program will include technical and financial assistance according to market needs in the field of paper, glass, and plastic recycling as well as metal waste management.