site.btaState Offers Sofia Municipality Assistance in Tackling Waste Crisis, Sofianites Step up to Help

As politicians on Thursday continued to exchange accusations or offer assistance over the overflowing bins and mounting waste in Sofia’s Lyulin and Krasno Selo boroughs, citizens across the capital stepped in to help tackle the waste crisis. It erupted after Sofia Municipality refused to sign new waste collection contracts, arguing that the only remaining bidder demanded prices more than three times the market rate. 

“We will not pay a protection racket fee,” Mayor Vassil Terziev declared on October 5 and introduced a temporary two-week waste management plan for the Lyulin and Krasno Selo boroughs. Another step to manage the crisis was taken on Thursday as the Sofia Municipal Council approved a report submitted by Terziev, granting consent for the municipal company Sofekostroy EAD to use its own and borrowed funds up to BGN 9 million (including VAT) to purchase specialized equipment needed to address the waste crisis in the capital. The report was adopted unanimously. 

State offers assistance

At a meeting with Terziev on Thursday, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov offered State assistance with equipment and solutions to help overcome the waste crisis. “Waste has no political color, and no political gains can be drawn from it,” Zhelyazkov stated. “Waste means pollution, and pollution also contaminates the political environment,” he added. The Prime Minister said he had offered help to address the immediate situation, and that Mayor Terziev assured him that he has a clear plan and is capable of handling the crisis. Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev will coordinate the efforts, Zhelyazkov said. “We are making it very clear that the State will participate by providing the necessary cooperation to resolve this issue,” said Zhelyazkov. 

Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev told a briefing that the Government has prepared calculations of the necessary equipment and financial resources in case Sofia Municipality requests assistance from the State. Georgiev also said he had spoken with mayors of several municipalities across Bulgaria that have offered waste collection trucks, water tankers, and cleaning machines for disinfection. “We are talking about a full set of measures, addressing not only waste collection but also public health concerns,” he noted. “Our work continues to ensure a contingency plan for the capital so that we can respond immediately the moment Mayor Vassil Terziev requests assistance,” Georgiev said.

By order of the Justice Minister, ten inmates from Kazichene Minimum Security Prison near Sofia were sent to assist with the removal of bulky waste in the Krasno Selo borough, the Justice Ministry’s press centre said. The effort was organised by order of Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev, following a written request from Borough Mayor Tsveta Nikolaeva. Although the inmates are serving under a low-security regime and are permitted to work at external sites without escort, security personnel have been assigned to accompany them, said Zamfir Draganov, head of the Kazichene facility. The prisoners will also assist in the Lyulin borough.

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva addressed Sofia Mayor Terziev and Sofia Inspectorate's Director, Nikolay Nedelkov, about complaints from residents of the two boroughs reporting heaps of rubbish due to difficulties with waste collection, Delcheva's office said on Thursday. The complaints indicate that since the introduction of а new waste collection system in Lyulin and Krasno Selo, older bins have not been emptied regularly, leading to overflowing bins and pollution of surrounding areas. In this context, the Ombudsman has requested information from local authorities regarding the temporary schedule for servicing bins in the two boroughs and the possibility of increasing collection frequency. Delcheva has also asked whether the areas around the bins are cleaned regularly, whether the crisis situation is expected to continue, and what measures are being considered for its long-term resolution.

Prosecution questions Deputy Mayor, Waste Plant Director

Meanwhile, Sofia Municipality's press centre reported that the prosecution service has summoned Sofia Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bobcheva and the Director of the Sofia Waste Treatment Plant, Nikolay Savov, for questioning. The reason for the interrogation is unknown, the Municipality added. The letter received from the Sofia City Prosecution Office states that the interrogations are being conducted in connection with a pre-trial investigation, but the subject of the case has not been specified. The two officials are directly involved in organizing the crisis waste management measures in the Lyulin and Krasno Selo boroughs. Bobcheva commented: “In the midst of the waste crisis - during the very days when our entire team is on the ground to ensure the city’s cleanliness - two of the people most responsible for managing the situation are being subjected to yet another round of institutional pressure.” The Deputy Mayor said she and Savov are serving the people of Sofia and will not give in to this pressure.

Minutes after exiting the interrogation, Savov said he had been summoned over a 2024 report related to an inspection by the Regional Environment and Water Inspectorate (REWI) to provide further clarification. “There were 15 inspections by REWI. They have now reopened the case concerning one of those inspections,” he added, explaining that his summons had no connection to the current waste crisis in Sofia. Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bobcheva is also expected to be questioned by the Prosecutor’s Office on October 10. “As far as I can tell, we received identical summonses, so she should also be questioned on the same matter,” Savov added. 

Politicians comment

Commenting on the waste management crisis, Sofia Mayor Terziev said on Facebook that "this is not a waste crisis. This is a clash between two worlds - the old one, where a few people with nicknames and influence dictate the rules, and the new one, where the people want transparency, order and justice." Terziev insisted the Municipality would not yield to “mafia practices” and thanked volunteers and neighbouring municipalities for assisting in the clean-up. 

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Co-chair Assen Vassilev commented that the waste crisis will be overcome and the dirty extortion of Sofia residents will end. He added that they would also deal with the extortionists. "Didn't Mr. [GERB leader Boyko] Borissov say yesterday [Wednesday] that he would help, and today the prosecution service started helping by summoning the people organizing the cleaning in order to waste their time,” Vassilev said in reference to the questioning of Sofia Deputy Mayor Bobcheva and Sofia Waste Treatment Plant Director Savov. “We see that the rhythmic gymnastics duo have moved on to a routine with clubs,” Vassilev added, referring to how institutions, such as the prosecution service, are allegedly often times used as clubs to inflict blows on political opponents. Vassilev called the prosecution’s actions an “absolute scandal.”

MRF - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski argued that GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov is "constantly rescuing" CC-DB, their mayors [such as Terziev], Vazrazhdane with their MP immunities and the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms. Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Thursday, he compared them to "small children" and Borissov, to their father. "I just do not understand why Boyko Borissov keeps saving them all the time, and why they attack him, when they clearly cannot live without him. If it weren’t for Borissov, they would no even be around," the MP stated. "They’re not fighting any mafia - they are just making a mess. The bad part is, there are no consequences for their messes, because their 'dad' Boyko always saves them. They cannot function without Borissov. If Borissov didn’t save them every day, they’d just be ordinary citizens who have to face the consequences of everything they do," argued Peevski.

When asked whether there was a waste management mafia before Vassil Terziev became Mayor of Sofia, GERB leader Borissov replied that there was a mafia when they created a waste crisis for him. "When they closed Suhodol borough, when I had to buy baling machines, when I was transporting bales all over Bulgaria, when I was looking for places to deposit bales," he added. "I do not understand what the term "mafia" means, so I give examples - the person who pays the mafia for two years is a mafioso", said the GERB leader. "[MPs of CC-DB] Ivaylo Mirchev and Bozhidar Bozhanov should stop explaining who is who from morning till night, because I did not go there to blackmail ministers like Bozhanov over public procurement contracts," Borissov noted. "Because I remain silent, they are climbing over my back - I will not let this happen," he added. Borissov also stated that he had neither seen nor heard of Taki [an alias of the controversial businessman Hristoforos Amanatidis], "or whatever his name is". When asked later if he knew anything about Taki, given that he had been active during the years when Borissov was Interior Ministry secretary general, the GERB leader replied, "He left Bulgaria back then - he was so active." 

A few months ago, a procedure was launched to select companies for waste collection in several parts of the capital. A Turkish company which bid for a contract for the two boroughs had four of its trucks set on fire and withdrew from the competition. "This left a single participant, which won the contract, and this is a company linked to Taki," Yes, Bulgaria Co-Chair and MP Ivaylo Mirchev said on September 19, adding that waste disposal in Sofia had previously cost BGN 144 per tonne, while the company connected to Taki offered BGN 420 per tonne. Sofia Mayor Terziev rejected the offer.

Sofianites unite

The crisis has prompted Sofia residents to use their own resources, time, and effort to collect and remove overflowing waste from containers in the two boroughs. People began organising spontaneously, encouraging each other to prevent waste accumulation.

Volunteers from the Gorata.bg initiative raised nearly BGN 80,000 within hours to buy waste collection trucks, said Nikola Rahnev, founder of Gorata.bg, in a statement to BTA. They plan to purchase two professional trucks worth a total of BGN 110,000. The vehicles are being shipped from Austria and are expected to arrive on Friday or Saturday, and to be put into use on Sunday. The trucks will remain the property of the Gorata.bg Foundation rather than being donated to Sofia Municipality or any other local authority. According to Rahnev, the two trucks will transport dozens of tonnes of waste daily. The organization also intends to buy containers depending on the additional funds collected. 

Journalist Lyubomir Martinov told BTA: "My wife, our neighbours from the nearby kebab shop, and I organised spontaneously to clear the area in front of our building from piles of waste. It took us about an hour and a half to gather all the rubbish into 30-40 bags of 120 litres each and take them to one of the three large containers in Krasno Selo.” Asked why he helped, he cited a survival instinct. 

Marketing manager Vesselena Marcheva told BTA: "Today [Thursday] we cleaned in front of our building in what was a sociological and social experiment. A homeless man joined us voluntarily to help fill the bags,” Marcheva recounted. Soon after, a woman stopped by and insisted on donating BGN 20, apologising for not being able to help otherwise. Another woman said the only way to fight the racketeers extorting Sofia’s citizens with the waste crisis was through such efforts, Marcheva said. She expressed regret that more people had not joined the clean-up, noting that Bulgarians like to complain but rarely take responsibility for their environment.

Architect Ivan Ivanov said for BTA that he helps because he believes it is best to change one's environment by personal example and to be the change one wants to see. He collects waste with his car from overflowing bins on Haydushka Polyana Street and transports it to containers that are regularly emptied. He supports the Mayor’s fight against cartel extortion.