A significant increase in fines for waste management offenses is also proposed.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposes the Verkhovna Rada to create a separate department for waste management. This is evidenced by the government bill number 10411 “On waste management”, registered in parliament on July 2.

The explanatory note emphasizes that the lack of an effective mechanism for managing certain types of waste, the insufficient level of interagency cooperation and the lack of strategic planning lead to an increase in the number of unauthorized landfills and congested landfills that do not meet environmental requirements.

“In 2017, the total volume of waste in Ukraine is 366 million tons, the amount of municipal solid waste collected and transported by enterprises is about 52 million cubic meters, of which 93 percent is buried in landfills and landfills. Of 5.4 thousand landfills almost half does not meet safety standards. Only about 7 percent of municipal solid waste is used as secondary resources, ”the government informs.

Thus, the project introduces for the first time into national legislation the fundamental principles and provisions of European legislation in the field of waste management, in particular, the introduction of a hierarchy of waste management and extended producer responsibility, a long-term waste management planning system at the national, regional and local levels.

The draft law provides for the introduction of a waste management information system, which will significantly simplify the accounting system, submit declarations and implement licensing procedures in the field of waste management. It is planned to introduce the National List of Wastes to replace the State Classifier of Wastes, which will contribute to the harmonization of the list of wastes with the European ones and will be used in the accounting system in the field of waste management.

The document provides for the creation of a central executive body that implements the state policy in the field of waste management, with powers to organize the waste management system and ensure its operation.

We emphasize that the document proposes a substantial increase in the size of fines for offenses in the field of waste management.

Recall that in late February, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the National Waste Management Plan until 2030.