The activity developed a review of the solid waste sector in Croatia involving seven topical studies across two dimensions; Three studies covered cross-cutting bottlenecks in the areas of a) governance, b) financial aspects, and c) business opportunities, and four technical reports addressed implementation constraints for the most challenging investments as well as technical issues hindering national Waste Management Plan (WMP) implementation: a) Waste Management Centers (WMC) and sorting, b) packaging waste, c) separation at source, and d) brownfields. 

The sector review PowerPoint presentations summarizes the conclusions and recommendations. The review fed directly into strategic diagnosis exercises, like Country Diagnostic Review, National Development Strategy RAS and in-country dialogue with Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEE), Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (EPEEF), Local Government Units (LGUs), etc. thereby informing the World Bank Group’s engagement in Croatia. In addition, it helps to elevate the importance of the waste management reform in the dialogue with government and deepens the dialogue with European Commission on the sector priority actions. The review identifies the key institutional determinants hindering progress in the development of the sector across the four dimensions of a) leadership; b) planning; c) enforcement; d) financial incentives; and provides short and medium, and long-term recommendations towards minimizing the risks of infringement, meeting EU targets, and leveraging the benefits of proper waste management for economic growth and social wellbeing in Croatia.