site.btaUPDATED Save Sofia Calls for Emergency over Waste Management Crisis, City Hall Says Six More Boroughs Covered for Waste Collection

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev should immediately declare a state of emergency in the five boroughs of Sofia which are experiencing a waste management crisis, said Boris Bonev, chair of the Save Sofia group in the Sofia Municipal Council, on Wednesday.

He stressed that currently there is no normal waste management in the boroughs of Lyulin, Krasno Selo, Izgrev, Slatina and Poduyane. A state of emergency would allow equipment and state institutions to be mobilized, Bonev said, adding that Terziev should focus less on publicity stunts and ask for help from the central government.

Later in the day, City Hall said continuity of waste collection services had been ensured in the Pancharevo, Iskar, Kremikovtsi, Ilinden, Nadezhda and Serdika boroughs, whose contracts expired on Wednesday. Poduyane, Slatina and Izgrev remain the only boroughs where services will continue under a crisis-management arrangement.

Regarding Lyulin, Krasna Polyana and Krasno Selo, Sofia Municipality recalls that a long-term contract with the Sofekostroy municipal company is in effect as of January 1, assigning it to provide the full range of sanitation services in these boroughs. Sofia Municipality also notes that, in most zones, court proceedings are under way, challenging the Municipality's decisions to terminate tenders or extend existing contracts.

Waste collection has been disrupted in the Sofia boroughs of Lyulin and Krasno Selo since October, affecting some 300,000 residents after Sofia Municipality refused to sign a new contract over inflated prices.