RECIKLIRAJ Zlatko Špoljar

Guest Zlatko ŠpoljarHosted by Boris ŽivkovićMay 3, 2026

Zlatko Špoljar

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

You've likely heard the perennial complaints about waste management, especially the challenge of household bio-waste and its inevitable odors. Zlatko Špoljar, a project manager at Consultara, offers a more nuanced view: one where practical solutions are quietly gaining traction, even if they aren't entirely new. His company is introducing ventilated bio-waste bins that tackle the smell and volume problem head-on, a concept common in Western Europe for decades but only now making its way to Croatia. This conversation shifts focus from the usual laments to the tangible progress being made, detailing how long-term education, infrastructure investments, and an unexpected surge in bio-waste recovery are reshaping Croatia's relationship with its trash. You'll walk away with a clearer understanding of how systemic change, even when slow, accumulates into real results.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

The ventilated bio-waste bins Consultara offers prevent odor and reduce waste volume by 'about twenty-five percent in a week' by drying the waste. This solution has been standard in Western Europe for over two decades; what seems like an innovation in one market is often a proven adaptation from another, highlighting that effective solutions don't always need to be new, just newly applied.

Three years ago, Consultara faced 'very little or no interest' and had to do 'a lot of education, presentations, and so on' to introduce their bio-waste system. Now, demand is growing, especially from ecologically conscious urban populations. This shows that even for established solutions, market readiness is a slow-burn process, requiring sustained effort before widespread adoption.

Composting, Zlatko Špoljar notes, is 'the oldest method of bio-waste treatment, from ancient times, before the Romans,' and his own mother practiced it for forty years 'when no one was talking about composting.' The most effective solutions often aren't cutting-edge inventions but rather forgotten or underutilized practices, rediscovered and scaled for modern needs.

Despite not yet meeting all EU targets, Croatia has 'significantly, significantly progressed' in waste separation over the past five years, with cities like Osijek achieving 51% separation. National averages can obscure substantial, incremental improvements happening locally, defying a common narrative of stagnation.

The varying success rates in waste separation, with North Croatia performing 'much better than the South,' are attributed partly to 'mentality.' Behavioral change, especially in public initiatives, is deeply intertwined with cultural norms and regional attitudes, making a one-size-fits-all approach less effective.

Educating children 'from a young age' is framed as a long-term investment that 'will certainly give results' by creating future generations who naturally separate waste, while older generations are 'much harder to convince.' Societal shifts in habits require generational commitment, with immediate results often less visible than the groundwork laid for the future.

Biogas plants, described as 'almost completely unknown to the public,' have seen an 'enormous leap' in bio-waste recovery, from 3,600 tons to 178,000 tons in five years. Major progress in waste management can occur in overlooked industrial sectors, often outstripping public perception or headline-grabbing household initiatives.

The Department of Environmental Protection 'provided millions and millions of bins for separate waste collection' to local governments, establishing the 'initial infrastructure' necessary for waste separation. Foundational, large-scale investments, though often unseen by the end-user, are a prerequisite for any subsequent behavioral or systemic change.

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