The garbage collection crisis in Sofia does not shake trust in me, said the mayor of the capital Vasil Terziev on the air of the program “Na Fokus“. In his words, some of the criticisms are justified, but others are greatly exaggerated and used to create an artificial political conflict.
“What they are trying to show as a political dispute is not such. There is a real problem, which is very expensive and requires a systematic solution“, Terziev emphasized. He warned that manipulative footage is being spread online, including videos from North Macedonia from 2021, as well as collages created with artificial intelligence that do not reflect the real situation in Sofia.
The mayor admitted that there are areas where garbage collection is still not at the desired level. Currently, snow removal is available in all seven zones of the capital, and garbage collection is relatively good in six of them. In “Izgrev“, “Poduyane“ and “Slatina“ the situation remains more complicated, but Terziev assured that improvement is expected there as well. “In “Lyulin“ the situation is not ideal, but it is moving towards stabilization, as from “Sofekostroy“ have given assurances that by the end of January they will be fully prepared to remove the waste", he said.
The Sofia Municipality has already signed annexes with the company “Titan“, which serves five of the zones. The decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court for the first, third and seventh zones are also expected. A long-term contract has been concluded for the sixth zone – “Lyulin“ and “Krasno Selo“, and the hopes are that there will be clarity for the fifth zone as early as next week.
“My personal goal is to have solved the problems in “Poduyane“, “Izgrev“ and “Slatina“, by adding additional resources, engaging volunteers and concluding a contract with a company that will remove the garbage at a competitive price“, said Terziev.
Regarding the allegations of the participation of a Turkish consortium, the mayor was categorical that there is no Turkish company and that he personally did not insist on such a company operating in the capital. According to him, behind the crisis are attempts by certain people to “take over Sofia's garbage“ at a high price, at the expense of the public interest.
Terziev apologized to the citizens of Sofia for the inconvenience caused and admitted that it is not pleasant for citizens to see such sights in front of their homes. “I will solve the garbage problem, no matter how much my critics are not believed”, he said and called on Sofia residents to dispose of waste separately, using the colored containers.
The mayor also commented on the winter situation in the capital, emphasizing that there was no drama with the snow, despite the claims that Sofia was impassable. According to him, all seven districts have been cleaned.
Regarding the incident in Vitosha, in which a woman died after a tree fell on her car, Terziev explained that the tree was on private property and the municipality does not have the authority to order felling in this area.
“I thank the citizens of Sofia for their patience and understanding. "I assure them that this problem will go away," the mayor of the capital also said, once again calling on people to clear the snow in front of their homes and to be responsible for the general urban environment.