Assessing Opportunities to Recycle Urban Waste in Tirana

In Albania, waste management is at a rudimentary level. The Municipality of Tirana has identified the need for a recycling program to divert recyclable material from landfills. Sponsored by the EDEN Center, an Albanian environmental NGO, our team assessed opportunities to recycle urban wastes in Tirana. We found community interest in recycling, but poor waste management practices, leading to overflowing waste bins and mixing recyclables with non-recyclable waste, deter participation. We recommend more frequent waste collection, a two-truck system to separately collect recyclables