The public hearing was opened by Environmental Protection Committee Chairman Dr Branislav Blazic who drew attention to the dangers of producing and storing large quantities of industrial waste and its disastrous impact on the environment and human health. The Committee Chairman also highlighted the importance of raising awareness on environmental protection and the need to educate people about it early on - at preschool and school age.
The Head of the Waste Management Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Radmila Serovic said that though the domestic legislation is largely harmonised with European laws, the implementation of said legislation is lacking. The Ministry representative added that the recycling industry also needs strategic strengthening.
Environmental Protection Agency Director Filip Radovic presented the Report on waste management in the Republic of Serbia saying that Serbia produces 8.7 million tons of waste a year, 83% of which comes from factories, and 17% from other companies obliged to report on its environmental impact. Radovic said that thermal power plants are the biggest polluters.
Slobodan Puzovic of the Provincial Secretariat for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development spoke of waste management in Vojvodina stressing that the waste in Vojvodina is not stored according to law. He appealed for the reinstatement of the Environmental Fund.
The participants of the public hearing were also addressed by Aleksandar Jovovic, professor of the Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, who shared data on industrial waste management and the waste management of enterprises that had filed for bankruptcy, followed by CEDEF Executive Board Chairperson Jovanka Arsic Karisic, Sinisa Mitrovic of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Miodrag Mitrovic of the Association “Hrabri cistac” (“Brave Cleaner”).
In addition to the Committee members and representatives of relevant state authorities, the hearing was also attended by representatives of the non-governmental sector, international organisations and the academic community.

The public hearing was organised with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/ Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) via project Strengthening the Oversight Role and Transparency of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.