The story of Gusinje

Gusinje, a rural municipality in Montenegro, has made remarkable progress towards zero waste in just 30 months. With support from Zero Waste Europe and active citizen participation, it has achieved key milestones in waste reduction and management.

Despite challenges common to underdeveloped regions, Gusinje embraced the EU-funded Montenegro and Albania Towards Zero Waste project, implementing strategic measures for waste reduction and recycling like a Material Recovery Facility and educational campaigns. This led to a significant drop in organic waste and higher recycling rates.

Education played a key role, promoting home composting and community cleanups. Looking ahead, Gusinje plans to strengthen waste management policies, serving as a model for other Montenegrin municipalities.