site.bta Environment Minister Vassileva: "Bulgaria Recycles 29 Per Cent of Its Waste"

Environment Minister Vassileva:"Bulgaria Recycles 29 Per Cent of Its Waste"

Sofia, January 7 (BTA) - "Twenty-nine per cent of waste in this country is recycled, which is tangible progress," Bulgarian Environment and Water Minister Ivelina Vassileva commented for BTA. She added that separate waste collection in Bulgaria has good parameters and even though other countries are more advanced in this respect, it has made progress over the years.

The new legislative package targeting less landfilling and stressing recycling has already been presented at the EU level, Vassileva said. She noted that Bulgaria has to work hard to honour its commitments to transpose the legislation, adapt to it and achieve better results.

To this end, 560 million leva under Operational Programme Environment (2014-2020) can be used. The money is earmarked for improvement of the waste management systems in the municipalities. "We will seek to meet the main target: waste treatment and recovery at source. The ultimate goal is to achieve zero waste generation, which will benefit both the environment and economic development," the Minister commented.

"We would like to assist municipalities in their efforts to set up the municipal sites for the collection of large-size and other waste, which would help improve the management of the entire waste flow," she pointed out. Her Ministry is also planning to assist municipalities in their efforts to treat biodegradable waste, including food waste. It should be collected separately and as closely as possible to the place of its generation, Vassileva said.

Draft amendments to the Waste Management Act have already been published for public consultation on the Ministry's Internet site. One purpose of the revisions is to roll back the grey sector and unfair competition in trade in secondary raw materials. It is proposed to require a bank guarantee of 15,000 leva for a company and 5,000 leva for each site for handling end-of-life vehicles and waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Any person who removes the contents, capsizes, compromises the integrity or the aesthetic appearance, or sets on fire waste collection receptacles is to be fined between 300 and 1,000 leva. The proposed sanction is intended to improve the effectiveness of the systems for separate collection of packaging waste.

More rigorous requirements are introduced for the registration of waste traders and brokers. The idea is to deter abuses and to enable the competent authorities to exercise more effective control of this business.