Statistical model for determining the amount and potential of household waste in the function of reuse: Towards sustainable waste management in the context of The Green Agenda

This paper aims to present the proposal of a "Statistical model for determining the amount and potential of household waste" to the wider professional and scientific community. The idea for the development of a statistical model arose from many years of experience and work in the field of waste management, operational organization, and management system development planning. The model can serve as one of the tools and instruments for solving a long-standing problem in the field of waste management in the Republic of Serbia, which is unrealistic and unreliable data on the amount and type of waste generated in households, as well as the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) itself points out in its annual reports. Given that there is a clear need to optimize the operations of the PUCs and other operators dealing with municipal solid waste management, the imperative goal of creating a statistical model that should provide the clearest and most accurate picture of the estimated amounts and types of waste generated in the household has arisen. The UN-Habitat guide "Waste Wise Cities Tool (WaCT)" was used as a methodological basis for research and model creation. The model is in continuous development, however, it already has enough data that can with great certainty create the results of estimates of the generated amounts of household waste, as well as its morphological composition. The model is intended as a tool for all those involved in waste management, with an emphasis on household waste. Some of the potential users of this model are scientific and professional institutions, LGUs, and PUCs, but also the business sector: operators of packaging waste management systems, recyclers, etc. In the context of the Green Agenda, we need reliable data on household waste as input data for the creation of green policies in the fields of circular economy and reuse. This will facilitate compliance with EU standards in waste management, reach the set EU targets in recycling, and finally, make it easier to overcome local challenges and difficulties in waste management.