site.btaSofia's Waste Collection Fees to Change Based on Polluter Pays Criterion

When the polluter pays principle is introduced, Sofia residents and businesses will see a change in their waste collection fees, Mayor Vassil Terziev told bTV on Sunday. The changes will be factored in in the capital's budget estimate.

Sofia is not faced with a waste crisis in at least the next two years, Terziev said. In December 2023, he said that Sofia's waste treatment plant landfilled 90% of the waste. The aim is to increase recycling to 8% or 9% by the year's end from 1.5% now.

The other important step is to make the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) system work, the Mayor said. The plant's cells are designed to be filled in 21 years but they are filling up much faster. Unless solid waste is incinerated, the full capacity will be exhausted in nine years, of which just two years are left. The number of people doing manual waste separation is expected to almost double shortly and the processing will cost BGN 3 million less than it does now because "some intermediaries" will be bypassed.