"Extremely inappropriate", "inconvenient" and "unfair" - this is how Sofia residents define the colored containers managed by the packaging waste recovery organizations in the Sofia Municipality. The findings are from a survey conducted by Vasil Terziev's administration among Sofia residents in the period May-July this year, in which 6,128 people took part.
“That is also our opinion. That is why we want to raise the requirements for the organizations, and not only have they not improved their service for years, but now they are suing us for wanting to improve it,” commented the mayor of Sofia.
By the end of this year, new contracts with packaging recovery organizations are to be signed and the Sofia Municipality team will continue to uphold the position that the system must be drastically improved to meet the needs of the people. Vasil Terziev is categorical about this.
Sofia residents are of the opinion that the number of containers is extremely insufficient, especially in the new and densely populated neighborhoods such as "Krastova Vada", "Manastirski Livadi" and "Gotse Delchev". In some areas, such as "Dragalevtsi" and "Pancharevo", they are completely absent. More than a third of people do not have convenient access to colored containers (37%), and 60% claim that where they are available, they are not serviced regularly.
“Extremely unsuitable", "inconvenient" and "inept" - the small openings are a major cause of dissatisfaction, as they make disposing of larger waste such as boxes extremely difficult and time-consuming. This causes people to leave waste next to the containers, which leads to pollution and an unaesthetic appearance of the urban environment.
Citizens also report a systematic lack of maintenance - containers are set on fire and destroyed, and months later they have still not been replaced. According to them, this is an obvious failure in the control and reaction of the responsible organizations.
The Sofia Municipality survey confirms the administration's conclusions that one of the most serious obstacles to the success of the colored container system is the widespread distrust that separately collected garbage is really recycled. 94% of respondents believe that more information campaigns are needed.
The colored containers for separate collection of recyclable packaging in Sofia are managed by three organizations - “Ecobulkpack” AD, “Bulekopack” AD and “Ecopack” AD. They are licensed by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Water (MoEW) in order to ensure that this packaging will not be landfilled, but will return to the economy in the form of recyclable material.
In the first days of Mayor Vasil Terziev's term, Sofia Municipality conducted a comprehensive analysis of the waste system, which found that about half of what is collected from gray containers as household waste is actually recyclable, and the municipality's cost for each ton of household waste is about 400 leva per ton.
In order to improve separate collection at the source, the Sofia Municipality team has prepared new requirements for packaging recovery organizations. The Sofia Municipal Council approved the introduction of these requirements, but now a battle is being fought in court over them, because the organizations are appealing the city council's decision. The findings of the survey fully confirm the decision of the Sofia Municipality from last year to:
Increase the number of colored containers;
Switch to a unified, three-color system throughout the municipality;
End the practice of “returning” waste collected in colored containers to the Municipality, which is defined as “unsuitable for recycling”;
Centralization and optimization of information and educational campaigns.
Larger openings/lids on containers for paper and cardboard packaging;
Unification of zoning and increasing penalties for failure to comply with obligations.
“Our task is to protect the interest of the people, and it is clear - less costs, cleaner streets, better care for the environment. "If we could improve separate collection by just 10%, this would save millions for the citizens of Sofia and we have no right to give up this battle," Terziev is categorical.