“Revenues” from polluters RSD 10 billion

Last year, through environmental taxes, Serbia collected 10 billion dinars from the companies that are „polluters“, whose production creates waste requiring special treatment, so as not to endanger the environment and human health.

This is what Tanjug was told by Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Filip Radovic, who also pointed out that in 2017 the state filed 1981 misdemeanour charges against the companies that failed to pay the environmental tax.

„Most companies, when they receive a misdemeanour complaint, respond by fulfilling their legal obligation. The companies that do not do so are prosecuted at court in order to finalise the procedure, that is, to collect the environmental tax, protect the environment, as well as the health and safety of people,“ Radovic said.

Money from environmental taxes, apart from investing in new ecological projects, is also used for waste disposal, and in Serbia, Radovic says, about 10 million tons of waste are generated annually, of which eight million tons of waste are ash produced by power plants.

„Of the remaining two million tons, about 200,000 tons are hazardous waste, dangerous for the health of our population, for animals and nature, and it must be adequately disposed of so as not to come into contact with living beings,“ explained Radovic.

However, he points out, there are no facilities for disposal of hazardous waste in Serbia, and our country exports most of the waste to the countries of the European Union.

Izvor: Novosti, Tanjug

Foto: Pixabay