From January 1, 2018 in Ukraine, an amendment to the law “On Waste” came into force, which prohibits the disposal of unprocessed wastes. What steps need to be taken in order to have the first processing capacities in Kyiv, why it is necessary to work on changing the current legislation and how long it will take to build a civilized waste management system – in an interview with Kyiv Vlast, the profile deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Petr Panteleyev said.

KV: Since January 1, Ukraine has entered into force a legislative norm on mandatory recycling of garbage. Kiev authorities, commenting on this amendment, called for more systematic actions and the introduction of a number of other legislative norms. What does Kiev offer in the matter of waste?

PP: The problem is that there is a law that garbage must be recycled. And the mechanisms for its implementation are not prescribed. The law that came into force was adopted in 2012 and brought our norms into line with the two directives of the European Union. But that’s the end of it.

It does not describe the list and sequence of operations with garbage, etc. It is necessary to develop appropriate regulatory documents. We at the city level want to establish a system for sorting and processing waste and it is possible to give an algorithm and a sample to other cities.

KV: For almost 10 years all the authorities in Kiev have been announcing the construction of modern incineration plants, sorting lines and so on almost every year. But for all this time so nothing has changed.

PP: It’s hard for me to comment on someone’s promises. One thing I can say confidently: Ukraine really lost a lot of time for solving infrastructure problems. Now in many areas we are forced to work in the “fire” mode, while simultaneously introducing systemic changes.

The sphere of waste management is an obvious example. The main polygon of Kiev – polygon number 5 – was built in 1986. He has exhausted his resource and now we plan to work on its reclamation. But it is impossible to close the landfill without offering an alternative in the form of a processing plant.

Of the 1.2 million tonnes of waste generated in Kyiv, about 23% is burned at the Energia plant, up to 10% is sorted and is recycled, the rest goes to landfills.

KV: Experts say a lot of garbage, which does not fall into the polygons.

Indeed, we are faced with frequent cases of illegal emissions of garbage in forest plantations, in wastelands. Two years ago there was a case when several thousand fluorescent lamps were thrown out right in the wasteland near the Poznyaki microdistrict.

And while a separate conscious Kyivan sorts garbage, accumulates batteries and LED lamps, then to take them to a separate container, someone allows himself such garbage poaching. Undoubtedly, the solution of the problem is in explanatory and motivational work with people, which should be supported by a more stringent system of fines.

KV: Now there is another serious problem. People have already grown to the point that batteries and LED lamps can not be thrown into the garbage, and even collect them separately. But where to put them then?

PP: To date, 140 containers for hazardous waste have been installed in Kiev – lamps, thermometers, batteries. Indeed, the recycling of certain types of hazardous waste is carried out only abroad. Now this issue is being handled by our communal enterprise “Kievcommunservice”, which in the future will conclude contracts with enterprises for recycling all waste without exception, that fall into orange “dangerous” tanks.

In Kyiv’s plans, a special place is occupied by the development of a separate garbage collection system, in particular, by increasing the number of containers and cars for the export of separate wastes, as well as the selection of hazardous waste.

KV: You talk about motivation. The human factor here plays an important role, and the townspeople are not accustomed to separate collection. How do you plan to change several million people at the same time?

PP: The attitude of people and their consciousness will only change when a civilized waste management system starts operating in the country, when the state takes the first steps towards systemic sorting and recycling of waste. We have a tremendous amount of work to do: beginning with the change of legal norms and ending with the construction of processing complexes that are already operating in Europe and the world.

The municipality of Kiev has already taken the first steps: we have created a Concept for the development of the sphere of household waste management in Kiev, and the Kyiv City Council, by its decision No. 697/3704 of December 14, 2017, approved the plan of measures for 2017-2025 in the waste management sphere.

KV: What measures does it take?

PP: First of all, the creation of garbage processing complexes, the technical re-equipment of the incineration plant “Energia” for more ecological work, the reclamation of landfill No. 5, and the development of a separate garbage collection system. I want to draw your attention to the fact that some of the items that are listed here as promising are already being implemented or implemented.

KV: For example?

PP: A lot of work was done at the test site No.5: 12 hectares of the map were poured into the mineral soil, the capacity of the equipment for processing the filtrate (a harmful substance that accumulated in the body of the landfill for many years) was increased. In fact, this is a preparatory work for further reclamation of the facility.

Simultaneously, we are working to attract investors for the construction of waste-processing complexes. We are preparing to announce the competition to determine the company that will carry out the construction.

KV: You said that Kiev abandoned the idea of ​​building an incineration plant. What then are the technologies in the focus of the city government and is Kiev ready to implement them?

PP: Over the past couple of years, we have studied the experience of many countries. We held dozens of meetings with potential foreign investors, saw the result of different ways of recycling. It should be clearly understood that only the sorting issue does not solve. Even after the separation of the resource-based part, there remain about 93-95% of the garbage, which needs to be recycled.

In the capital, mechanical and biological technology will be introduced, which includes the separation of garbage into four fractions: resource-rich components, organic matter, conventional fuel, inert residue. When we talk about building a factory, we mean a full-fledged complex, where sorting will be provided, as well as processing of each of these fractions.

The launch of such facilities will, first of all, significantly reduce the volume of buried trash and, of course, positively affect the ecological situation in the region.

KV: Where do you plan to take financing for the construction of the complex, which, as I understand it, is quite expensive?

PP: The construction of the processing complex, depending on its capacity, can cost from several tens to several hundred million euros. In many respects, the recoupment of the construction of such projects depends on the tariffs for waste recycling, as well as on the means that they can raise, for example, from the sale of electricity or heat.

In any case, for the city budget, such construction is a heavy burden. We need a comprehensive approach, in which an investor who is interested in a project invests money in construction, and the city provides guarantees for further return of investments at the expense of different sources.

KV: Poles, Swedes, Chinese, Austrians, Poles planned to build waste disposal plants in Ukraine. Dozens of factories have been announced in recent years, but nothing has been built. What needs to be done to build such a plant was profitable?

PP: Give guarantees. The main guarantor, in our case, should be the municipality. We need to implement a transparent waste management system, provide production capacity, create conditions for return of investments, and tighten penalties for spontaneous emission of garbage.

We have a huge work to do. But, I hope that in the near future Kyiv will manage to build the first garbage processing plant in Ukraine.