In October 2024, the Ministry of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure passed the Rulebook on Arranging, Managing, Disposing and Landfilling Construction Waste during Performance of Works (Pravilnik o uređivanju, upravljanju, odlaganju i deponovanju građevinskog otpada u toku izvođenja radova, Official Gazette of RS no. 81/2024) (“C&D Waste Rulebook“).
Waste management plan
The obligation to prepare waste management plan was already introduced by the 2023 Decree on Manner and Procedure of Managing Construction and Demolition Waste. The C&D Rulebook now specifies that the obligation to prepare a waste management plan and procure an approval of such plan from the competent authority is on the investor or the person to whom the investor transferred ownership to construction waste. As of 18 April 2025, the contractor will be obliged to keep the approved plan at the construction site and record the relevant data from the waste management plan in the construction log.
In contrast, in case of demolition of a construction, the waste management plan has to be prepared by the contractor, while the owner has the obligation to provide the contractor in writing with the details of the building to be demolished, including on the materials used for its construction, the time of construction.
Stoppage of works in case of unforeseen hazardous waste
The C&D Waste Rulebook stipulates that if hazardous waste which was not foreseen in the approved waste management plan is produced during the construction works, the contractor and the supervision have to suspend the works and inform the investor, construction inspection and environmental inspection on the appearance of hazardous waste.
Relaxation of the procedure for the issuance of use permit
The C&D Waste Rulebook specifies that the application for the usage permit does not have to be accompanied with waste or, as the case may be, hazardous waste, movement document if no licensed operator for treatment or storage of waste exists within 50km from the construction site. In that case, the investor is required to submit a statement that such operator does not exist within the 50km perimeter, and the authorities are required to verify the accuracy of this statement. This new rule which relaxes the use permit application procedure does not release the investor from the obligation to manage construction waste in accordance with the law – the investor has to hand over the waste to a waste management operator after the completion of the construction even if this is not a condition to obtain the usage permit.
