site.btaBrussels Closes Infringement Procedure after Bulgaria Recultivated All Non-compliant Landfills

The European Commission (EC) has closed an infringement procedure against Bulgaria after it closed and recultivated all old landfills and fulfilled its obligations under the Landfill Directive, said the Environment Ministry.  The EC's decision dates from April 24 and following a December 2023 announcement by Bulgaria that all 113 landfills, subject to the 2015 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU), have been closed and reclaimed. On November 17, 2023, the reclamation of the last municipal landfill that does not meet the requirements was completed. The Commission checked the implementation of the completed reclamation activities of all 113 municipal landfills. 
 
With the closure of the infringement procedure, Bulgaria avoided the payment of serious financial sanctions that threatened the country if it did not meet the requirements and eliminate violations of EU law in the field of waste disposal. The results of the closure and reclamation of landfills are minimizing environmental pollution, preventing potential pollution of water sources, capturing and removing landfill gas safely and controllably from the landfill body, improving the living conditions of the population. 
 
The purpose of the closure and reclamation of landfills is to strengthen the terrain on which waste has been accumulated and ensure maximum resistance and isolation of waste.  
With the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU of July 16 2015, Bulgaria was found to have failed to protect 113 non-compliant landfills for non-hazardous waste by July 2009. In the autumn of 2021, the European Commission warned that our country is about to be brought before the Court of Justice of the EU to pay significant financial penalties for still unrecultivated 43 landfills for non-hazardous waste out of the 113.