The “Krasta” landfill in Kumanovo will eventually be closed, rehabilitated and transformed into a modern waste transfer station from which waste from the entire Northeastern Planning Region will be transported to a waste processing facility near Sveti Nikole.
This was one of the key points presented by Maksim Dimitrievski while explaining decisions related to the regional waste management system.
According to Dimitrievski, the project began more than 13 years ago as a European Union grant initiative and is intended to provide a long-term solution to waste management problems in the Northeastern and Eastern Planning Regions.
Under the planned system, waste will first be collected at transfer stations and then transported to a central waste processing facility.
One of the transfer stations for the Northeastern Region will be located at the existing Krasta landfill, while another is planned in Rankovce. Waste from the entire region will be temporarily stored there before being loaded into specialized transport containers and delivered to the processing plant.
According to the existing study prepared with European Union support, the processing facility is planned near Sveti Nikole.
Dimitrievski noted that disagreements surrounding the location in Sveti Nikole were among the main reasons for years of delays in implementing the project.
As part of the initiative, the regional public utility company “Eko Istok-Severoistok” has been established, bringing together 15 municipalities from both planning regions.
The mayor stressed that Kumanovo’s greatest benefit would be the closure and rehabilitation of the Krasta landfill, which has represented an environmental problem for decades.
He explained that after closure, the landfill would undergo methane gas extraction, be covered with large amounts of soil and eventually be reforested.
A modern transfer station would then be built on part of the site, featuring concrete storage bays and specialized equipment for compressing waste into large-capacity containers for transport to the processing facility.
According to Dimitrievski, the project could provide a permanent solution not only for Kumanovo but for all 15 participating municipalities, while enabling waste to be transformed into useful resources such as biogas and compost.
He also stated that the number of fires at the Krasta landfill has decreased over the past six years compared to previous decades, although he suggested that some recent fires may have been deliberately caused.
At the end of his address, Dimitrievski called on council members to support the proposed decisions and avoid portraying Kumanovo as a municipality obstructing the project.