It was a symbolic triumphal act of the majority that had just won the elections in 2013: scrapping the law for the waste import that had generated so much protest and even a mobilization for national referendum. The entire feeling towards this controversial proposal to import waste had been very negative and rightly so: Albania had tons of waste lying around, not being collected, not being managed and not being recycled. It surely did not need any more. Most importantly waste import in a country with very limited control at border points and high level of corruption meant a real possibility of letting in dangerous waste such as chemical compounds and even radioactive items. It is no secret that in neighboring countries the waste mafia has been wreaking havoc in several occasions.
Three years later a similar proposal, paradoxically out of this very same majority that stroke it down has re-emerged. The main assumption lying at the heart of this proposal is that Albania has changed: there are new and apparently consolidated capacities to exert the necessary controls and checks in order to prevent dangerous and illegal waste from coming in. there is a need former recycling companies to import waste otherwise they will go bankrupt and fire their existing employees. The allegation is that a win-win situation would be generated: firms would work at their full capacity with imported waste and hire thousands more people.
Without being unfair to this majority which has accomplished things elsewhere, when it comes to waste management, Albania has not changed one single bit. The real capacities of the country to systematically check and control the waste import and make sure that only the permitted items are let through are simply not there. The state inspectorates cannot manage some small scale restaurants serving poisoned food in Tirana, let alone mount a significant operation to scan large quantities of waste. The Ministry of Environment is one of the least funded, least significant parts of the executive cabinet, often designated to serve as an allocation to coalition partners. Levels of corruption among employees at the brooder points of Albania, policemen and, according to every independent survey, are extremely high. The waste import would be another opportunity for them to make millions. Even if theoretically they would want to professionally carry out their duties, they would require specific training and monitoring. The amendment proposed by the junior coalition partner to let the civil society do the monitoring just adds to the ridicule of this situation.
Additionally, Albania is also the same country in terms of waste still lying around. Uncollected, unprocessed, dumped waste occupies entire fields and hills especially in rural areas, alongside river beds and especially in the final sea deltas. If that service gets up and running the recycling companies would suddenly find themselves out of their quantity problem. Many sites in Albania would be more attractive for tourism. Talk about win-win situation! It is absurd that the Members of the Parliament or the cabinet pretend they don’t see this amount of trash everywhere since they live inside the same country and travel through it frequently.
It becomes very clear that in the present situation the waste mafia has successfully lobbied its way into the decision making ranks of the system. The current opposition by virtue of being the former proponent of the same idea is bound to be silent. The people protesting the law three years ago won the right to hold a referendum, even a concrete date was assigned for December 22, 2013. The Rama government through a decision of the Cabinet annulled the law and therefore argued that there was no more need for the referendum. The minimum they can do now is to let the referendum through and let the people deiced. And the result is a no-brainer.
