THE DRIVE TOWARDS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: MITIGATING THE CHALLENGES FACED BY ALBANIA

Abstract

Achieving a circular economy is a must for attaining sustainable development and Albania has recognized its importance since 2015 when adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, being a European Union candidate country, Albania is locked into the membership process which bears some clear requirement in regard to the circular economy, too. Such requirements for a transition towards a circular economy are especially set out in the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans 2018.

However, Albania is facing challenges in achieving this objective, and this paper intends to discuss these challenges, explore the reasons why they arise and refer to the experience of other countries in the region as the possible way ahead.

Albania is faced with some particular challenges in relation to the drive towards achieving a circular economy. The research undertaken here as part of this study, as well as various other studies conducted in the past, indicate that these changes appear in the form of inadequate regulatory framework, low resource productivity, improper waste management, limited awareness of the circular economy, etc.