At the Smart Economy Hungary conference organised on Tuesday in Budapest by CoSignum and the National Institute for Environment (NeKI), State Secretary for Environmental Affairs Zoltán Illés and State Secretary Norbert Csizmadia spoke about the new Waste Management Act and the relation between the environment and the economy.

The State Secretary reminded those present that the standpoint of the delegates at the OECD conference had also been that it is not possible to plan economic and financial policy without taking into account the environment, natural resources and conservation. Nature "kicks back" very soon in response to any negative action. As an example he mentioned that Hungary is a country that is very rich in water, but if the population is not prepared to connect to the sewage system, this leads to pollution of water stocks. This is why the increase of the soil stress charge was necessary, emphasised Zoltán Illés.

The politician stressed that the state must play an even greater role in both conservation and waste management. As a step in the right direction, Zoltán Illés mentioned the fact that at present the collection and utilization of waste is already conducted on the basis of the Danish model by a state-owned, non-profit company. He also emphasised the fact that state responsibilities must be performed by the state, and that for example flood protection is better managed by the state than it would be by local government.

Zoltán Illés announced that Parliament is expected to adopt the Waste Management Act by September, and that the 33 implementation orders and statutes included in the draft of the Act would also be published by then, creating a transparent situation regarding the issue.

As Norbert Csizmadia, State Secretary for Planning Coordination of the Ministry of National Economy put it, long term development is determined by the state of national resources, employment and high added value production, meaning that green technologies mean a way forward for Hungary with regard to all three criteria. For this reason, development of the green economy was also given great emphasis in the new Széchényi Plan, reiterated the State Secretary.

(kormany.hu / Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)