site.bta266,512 T of Waste Incinerated in Bulgaria in 2022 - Experts

According to a report by the environmental organization Za Zemiata [For Earth], 266,512 tonnes of waste were incinerated in Bulgaria in 2022, Desislava Stoyanova, an expert at the NGO, said in BTA's press club here on Wednesday. The subject of the study is waste plastic, textiles, used car tires and refuse-derived fuel used in garbage incineration plants. Data from the report show that the amount of waste incinerated for 2022 corresponds to approximately 15% of the total permitted volume.

As a member of the European Union, Bulgaria is obliged to achieve certain targets in municipal waste management, with 60% recycling and up to 10% landfill disposal by 2030, Stoyanova said.

The report concludes that incineration plants limit the development of waste prevention measures and separate collection and recycling systems by removing recyclable materials, many of which have a high calorific value suitable for incineration. The environmentalists conclude that incinerators undermine the transition to a circular economy and the achievement of European waste management targets.

Lawyer Regina Stoilova said that a big problem is that, while information on the amount and type of waste incinerated by operators with complex permits is public, there is no access to information on incinerators for non-hazardous and hazardous waste with smaller capacities. She stressed that such information is refused by the Executive Environment Agency, even if an application for access to information is filed with the Agency. In her view, access to this information should be free and regulated.

As another problem, Stoilova highlighted the short time frames for appeals when there is an investment plan for the construction of a waste incinerator on the territory of a municipality. She added that these deadlines should be at least one month rather than 14 days.

Dimitar Palov of the Ti Reshavash [You Decide] association said that chaos reigns in waste incineration management and policy. He stressed that high legal expertise is needed to follow the permit procedures for waste incineration investments.