site.btaCitizens Actively Report Irregularities, Including Improper Waste Disposal and Overflowing Bins, Says Sofia Mayor Terziev

Citizens are actively reporting irregularities, including improper waste disposal and overflowing containers. This was stated by the Mayor of Sofia, Vasil Terziev, to journalists before the start of the roundtable "Urban Waste Management: Crime, Corruption, and Environmental Security," held here on Wednesday.

The Mayor thanked the volunteers and the companies from other municipalities who joined the cleanup efforts and are supporting the Sofia Municipality’s initiatives.

"With each passing day, the situation is becoming more normal, and I’m optimistic that in the coming days we will no longer see the scenes we've witnessed recently in the neighborhoods," Terziev said.

According to him, people are showing initiative not just through criticism but also by volunteering their time and resources, which demonstrates that society can come together during difficult times. “Once again – a big thank you, because you give me confidence that we are a society capable of waking up. We always come together in times of crisis,” the Mayor stated.

Terziev emphasized that the Municipality's priority is to ensure there are no overflowing trash bins and that residents don’t have to worry about their health. “Everything else will follow. We’ll keep you informed – we publish a bulletin every day,” he added.

“A big thank you to everyone who isn’t indifferent to the problems and actively helps. Thank you,” concluded the Mayor of Sofia. 

The waste management situation in Sofia became critical in the Lyulin and Krasno Selo boroughs, where the municipality introduced an emergency waste-collection system after refusing to sign waste collection contracts with what town hall says are inflated prices, allegedly linked to figures from the underground. Under the emergency system, residents continue to use the grey bins. When full, small trucks empty them into larger grey containers, placed at three locations in Krasno Selo and eight in Lyulin, which are then transported to a plant in the village of Yana near Sofia. There have been unconfirmed reports of garbage from elsewhere being dumped in the affected boroughs in order to further exacerbate the situation. Commenting the waste management crisis, Terziev said on Facebook that "this is not a waste crisis. This is a clash between two worlds - the old one, where a few people with nicknames and influence dictate the rules, and the new one, where the people want transparency, order and justice".