site.btaEnvironment Minister Says Government Is Ready to Assist Sofia Mayor with Waste Collection Crisis

If the Mayor of Sofia needs assistance, the Environment Ministry is ready to respond, Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov said on Wednesday whether the ministry would intervene in the capital’s waste collection problem.

Genov said that under the Waste Management Act, mayors are responsible for waste management. Genov spoke on the topic following a briefing about inspections related to construction in the recently flooded seaside resort of Elenite.

Earlier in the day, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said that Sofia Municipality cannot resolve the issue on its own and needs a functioning state and institutions that act promptly, predictably, and decisively.

Since October 4, a new temporary waste collection system has been introduced in the Lyulin and Krasno Selo boroughs after the Sofia Municipality refused to sign a contract with the sole remaining bidder in the public tender for waste collection services.

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".