State of the Environment Bulgaria 2003
Waste generation is inevitably related to economic and social development. In this respect a considerable increase in waste generation is foreseen as a result of the expected economic growth, per capita income increase, and consumption growth in Bulgaria.
The main problems related to the collection, processing and disposal of waste can be summarised as follows:
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The lack of technical equipment and installations for processing and/or disposal of a significant portion of hazardous waste generated in the country is one of the reasons for unauthorised discharge of waste and uncontrolled waste disposal in inappropriate facilities.
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Existing disposal facilities and installations such as landfills and incinerators in many cases do not meet the legal requirements and the modern technical standards.
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The construction of capacities adequate to the quantities and types of generated waste requires significant investments in processing and disposal infrastructure which should be provided in a relatively short period of time.
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The NIMBY (not in my back yard) syndrome impedes the construction of new facilities and installations for disposal.
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The higher cost of disposal will also lead to a significant rise in the fees paid by households. The transition to regional facilities for disposal of municipal waste requires increased transportation expenses and investments for the purchase of new waste collecting equipment.
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Bringing the existing landfills into compliance and constructing new ones according to the requirements of Directive 99/31/EC on landfill of waste, as well as cleaning up illegal dumpsites require mobilisation of significant financial resources.
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The private investment devoted to waste disposal is still limited.
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Landfilling of wastes is still the most common method for waste disposal in the country. According to the existing practice municipal, industrial, construction, agricultural, and in some cases hazardous wastes are all disposed in municipal landfills.
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Despite the observed improvement in the quality of the submitted information, the reported municipal waste quantities still exceed expert assessments. The reasons for submitting inaccurate information are related to the methods used for assessment of the quantities of collected waste, based on transport documentation, the insufficient control on by local authorities over the companies performing waste collection and disposal activities, and the lack of weighbridges to weigh the waste going to landfills (only 14 landfills in the country are equipped with weighbridges).
Last update on March 2003