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(Last updated: 31 Jul 2007)
Trends and opportunities
The market
The issues of environmental protection and controls are becoming more important to Hungarian citizens. Nowadays the community is increasingly involved in lobbying the government on the issue of the environment, which has resulted in more stringent pollution controls. Environmental projects are mainly driven by the demands laid down under European Union (EU) law with which Hungary must comply when they joined the EU.
Hungary is determined to clean up its country in an attempt to attract greater amounts of foreign investment and to continue to promote Hungary as a major centre for business and tourism in Central Eastern Europe.
Air pollution is a serious problem in Hungary’s capital Budapest and the historical industrial areas of the northeast. There are serious health concerns over the exhaust fumes from old-style vehicles and fine dust. These are also affecting the country’s historic buildings. A number of measures have been introduced with the main objective of reducing car emissions:
- Leaded petrol has been banned
- Tram, bus and trolley networks in the country’s capital have been improved to try to reduce commuting by car
- Western cars have been replacing the polluting Soviet-era models
- All new cars are now fitted with catalytic converters
- A ban on two-stroke engines
Hungary is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and is creating legislation to reduce emissions that harm the ozone layer and affect climate change.
Water pollution has increased with the expansion of major cities like Budapest. Hungary also faces the problem of having neighbouring countries polluting the water, which then flows into the country. The Hungarian Government is working with its neighbours to combat this problem.
A major concern is the fact that only a small percentage of the country’s sewerage is treated, the remainder causing pollution to Hungary’s waterways. Some of the sewerage and water supply pipes are more then 90 years old. These will need to be replaced or rehabilitated to prevent serious problems arising from bursting pipes. Although Hungary has built sewerage treatment plants in major cities, more needs to be done to meet EU standards.
Recycling by consumers has become more popular over the past few years in Hungary with a greater number of companies participating in the recycling process. Some recycling programs involve:
- Cash given to customers when they return their empty bottles to the store
- Cash given to customers in exchange for unwanted white goods such as refrigerators and microwaves
There are still areas of recycling that could be further developed in Hungary. These include:
- The recycling of paper goods
- Disposal of vegetable scraps in compost bins
- Bins with various compartments separating plastics, aluminium and general waste
- In the industrial sector, Hungary has made great improvements in the secure storage, disposal and recycling of waste materials.
A major government initiative over the past few years has been to implement a concept of ‘healthier, greener’ living. This includes the planning of cities to improve the standard of living for inner-city dwellers. Recent residential clocks on the outskirts of Budapest have been built using environmentally friendly products and care that the building processes does not affect the surrounding area. Some emerging opportunities in green building include:
- Energy saving systems
- The use of recycled materials
- The reduction in construction waste
- Inclusion of parklands in the overall design of the housing complexes
An almost yearly problem for many Hungarian living by the banks of the river Tisza and to a lessor extent the Danube is the constant threat of flooding. Around 2.5 million inhabitants and 700 communities are at risk from flooding. The government is aware that a flood prevention and inland drainage program is essential in order to lessen the risk of a major flood.
Major tasks in water management include:
- Improving the country’s flood prevention through the expansion of the country's dyke network.
- Increasing development in the areas of river management and flatland water management.
Most environment projects are fragmented and may be low-scale. Major projects are available from the Hungarian Ministry of Environment and Water Management website and on the government's Europe Plan website, which is a summary of central initiatives to improve with Hungary's European Union accession.
Opportunities
There are several business opportunities for Australian businesses with reference to pollution prevention and environmental remediation in Hungary. These include:
- Air pollution control
- Municipal sewerage
- Greener building methods
- Recycling of waste materials
- Flood prevention
In the National Environment Plan the Hungarian Government has outlined the major areas to develop such as protection of air, water and soil, decrease damages caused by environmental noises and oscillation. Other fields for improvement include growth in usage of renewable energy from the present 3.6 per cent to five per cent, decrease and modern management of waste output, and compliance with the Kyoto Agreement.
Financing of most of these projects are through the EU and/or local funds for which tenders are applied. Australian companies will need to check which funds are covering the projects and what requirements need to be met by the tender.
Competitive environment
Most of the equipment used in the recycling process is imported from Hungary’s main suppliers - Germany, Austria and the USA. |