State of the Environment 2003
What is being done to solve the problems?
Measures included in the National Waste Management Programme are grouped in 8 categories:
1. Prevention and reduction of generated wastes
A training programme on “Methodology for determination of the municipal waste fee” for 100 municipalities was performed together with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
A pilot project for family composting was performed in the municipality of Velingrad. Under this project a collection of organic wastes for composting, separate from the total municipal waste flow, was introduced and 120 containers for family composting were provided.
2. Re-use and recycling
A provisional project for reconstruction and modernisation of the installation for accumulators’ recycling at the Lead-Zinc Combine in Kardjali was developed.
A system for collection and construction of an installation for PET-bottle recovery was introduced within the region of North-East Bulgaria.
A project for separate collection, milling and clearance of glass wastes for eventual recycling was realized in the village of Kichevo-Varna. A recycling installation with a capacity of 32 tonnes per day was constructed.
The establishment of a system for collection, processing and recovery of end-of-life tyres is imminent.
Two projects for recovery of wood wastes and production of eco-briquettes are currently under way.
A project for recovery of sludge originating from the Waste Water Treatment Plant of the city of Plovdiv was realized during the recovery of the spot of the tailings pond of “Elshitsa”.
3. Improvement of the collection and transportation organisation
MoEW supports the enforcement of this priority by granting no-interest loans via the National Fund for Environment Protection.
4. Environmentally sound waste disposal
Landfills for municipal waste in seven municipalities were brought into use.
New cells in the landfills for municipal waste are under construction.
The work on the Project “Preliminary Studies and Preparation of the Documentation for Construction of National Centre for Hazardous Wastes Treatment” continued. A study on the quantities and the composition of the hazardous wastes generated in the country was conducted and a project for the facilities and installations needed for their disposal was developed. The project was presented for financing under Pre-accession Instrument ISPA.
An incinerator for hospital wastes within the territory of the Medical Academy in Sofia financed by The Danish Environment Protection Agency is under construction. The facility has a capacity of 2 800 tonnes per day. It is designated for disposal of the hospital wastes generated within the territory of the City of Sofia and it meets European requirements and standards.
A National Plan on disposal of hospital wastes was developed under EC Programme “REAP”.
The European Commission developed and approved a project for six regional landfill sites for the disposal of municipal wastes with a total cost of 60 million ˆ which will start in 2003.
A National Plan on treatment of sludge originating from waste water treatment plants was developed.
The potential for reconstruction and modernization of the working enterprises in the cement industry was studied regarding the incineration of different types of wastes as an alternative kind of fuel for the production processes.
Last update on March 2003