The standard of living in a country can be correlated with the standard of solid waste
management. Efficient solid waste management must consider the cultural, social, and
economic circumstances of a country while coordinating the efforts of the people on a
local level. The author of this report worked in a small town in the northeastern part of
Macedonia while studying the households’ willingness to contribute to an improved solid
waste management program in their community.
Macedonia was declared a candidate country for entry into the European Union in
December 2005 and has since been making advances towards implementing solid waste
management policies throughout the country. The process of implementing these policies
has been challenging as the government has been in the process of decentralization since
July 2005.
During the author’s Peace Corps service the author spoke informally with many residents
of Kratovo, Macedonia concerning the current solid waste program. Through these
discussions, as well as through the collaboration with the Engineers Without Borders
Chapter at the University of Florida, an improved solid waste management plan is in
development. To assist the project’s success, a solid waste drop-off survey was
distributed to 300 households in Kratovo to assess the community’s perceptions on the
current solid waste management program using a 10% sample size of the total
population; 269 surveys were returned to the Municipality of Kratovo.
The solid waste survey suggests that a large percentage, 76% of households in Kratovo,
think the current waste management service is inadequate. When asked whether the
garbage along the river and at the illegal landfill sites located throughout Kratovo bother
them, 99% stated “yes.” Through informal discussions with residents and as the survey
suggests, many households (41%) said they are willing to contribute to improving the
condition of the polluted river in Kratovo through environmental activities, and 26% said
they would participate in environmental campaigns. This suggests that a large percentage
of households are willing to contribute to an improved solid waste management program
in Kratovo. Recycling and composting are also viable options for Kratovo to reduce the
amount of solid waste that is currently being disposed of at the landfill. Future surveys
conducted in Kratovo should chose the appropriate surveying method while properly
selecting the households to be surveyed and clearly writing questions to minimize
measurement error.
As the community of Kratovo is willing to assist the local solid waste management
program, the local government must maintain collaboration between the Engineers
Without Borders Chapter at the University of Florida. Their recommendations can help to
coordinate the efforts of local citizen organizations with the local government. This
collaboration is crucial as Macedonia faces decentralization with the ultimate goal of EU
membership.