Press-Conference dedicated to “Solid Waste. Dumps in Ukraine. Does waste disaster threatens Ukraine?” took place in Information Agency “Ukrainian National News”. Mr. Oleksandr Ihnatenko, Director of the Department of Territories’ Landscaping and Communal Services, MINREGION of Ukraine, Mr. Leonid Tulovsky, Expert on Quality Control, UNDP Project “Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Program” and Mr. Vyacheslav Sorokovsky, Expert on Decentralization, Swiss-Ukrainian project “Decentralization Support in Ukraine” took part in the press-conference.

Oleksandr Ihnatenko said that about 50 million cubic meters (about 12 million tons) of waste are produced every year in Ukraine and they are going to landfills. 92 per cent of waste is disposed and the rest is being processed and utilized. Number of cities, which introduce separate collection, is constantly growing. For example, while in 2010 separate collection of waste was carried out in 53 cities and towns, in 2011 – in 130 settlements, in 2012 the figure reached 185 settlements. 14 waste sorting plants are operating in Ukraine.

However, only 30 % of villages ensure centralized removal of solid waste. To solve the problem, Ministry discusses the challenge with associations of local self-governing bodies. It concerns the transfer of mandate related to solid waste removal from village councils to rayon state administrations. May be the mechanism of inter-municipal cooperation, which is currently being piloted in Tulchyn rayon within the framework of inter-municipal project on integrated approach to solid waste management (SWM) will be used.  

To-day, challenges related to SWM is the priority of a number of administrative and territorial units of Ukraine. In Tulchyn rayon (population – about 55 thousand people) these problems need immediate solution. Existing landfill has almost exhausted its potential and is 99 per cent full, while the amount of waste produced by households is growing. Sanitary situation in Tulchyn and nearby villages is becoming more and more inadequate; spontaneous dumps are appearing; the environment is polluted.

Landfill, which was commissioned in 1990 for 20 years, is located 1km from Tulchyn. About 30,2 thousand cubic meters of waste is disposed to it every year. Currently this landfill is overloaded; waste is disposed without sorting; environmental technologies are not used at all; access roads are in a very bad condition and pretty need repair.

Communities’ territories that took part in the project are nearby and their population is about 26 thousand. That is why it was reasonable for the communities to jointly participate in SWM project.

Vyacheslav Sorokovsky, Swiss-Ukrainian project “Decentralization Support in Ukraine” expert on decentralization told the audience about the project operation. Inter-municipal project on integrated approach to SWM is implemented by Tulchyn rayon state administration, Tulchyn rayon council, Tuclhyn tow council, Suvorivske and Kynashiv village councils and is supported by Swiss-Ukrainian project “Decentralization Support in Ukraine” and UNDP project “Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Program”. It is aimed at solving the challenges related to SWM in Tulchyn rayon.

In April 2012 Report on alternative options of integrated approaches to solid waste management in Tulchyn target rayon was considered. After a long discussion Steering Committee approved one of three proposed options of solid waste management in rayon. It will become the basis for rayon SWM Strategy and Action Plan.

According to approved option, 4-containers technological scheme of separate waste collection, which presupposes the use of separate containers for separate collection of paper and cardboard, plastic, metal, glass and mixed waste will be launched.

UNDP/MGSDP supported the pilot initiative to test SWM in 5 multistoried buildings in which condominiums in Tulchyn were established. 

Leonid Tulovsky, Expert on Quality Control, UNDP Project “Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Program” told that UNDP/MGSDP approved for Tulchyn the project on purchasing the materials and equipment necessary for inter-municipal project implementation, i.e.:

·       purchasing the equipment and containers necessary for step-by-step implementation of the system of separate waste collection and removal on the territory of Tulchyn;

·       constructing of 5 sites for waste collection near so-called pilot buildings and their equipping with containers for separate waste collection;

·       conducting the trainings for condominiums’ boards and activists on separate waste collection and on identifying the economic benefits of such a collection;

·       improving the quality of communal enterprise’s services; introducing the free service related to removal of separated fractions sent for recycling; changing the behavior patterns of multistoried buildings’ inhabitants in the context of separate waste collection;

·       conducting the information campaign in Tulchyn and nearby villages.

Similar pilot projects on separate waste collection and composting the green waste will be implemented in Kynashiv and Suvorivske villages.

Besides, information campaign “Less Waste – Better Life” is being launched on a pilot territory.

For more details on information on information campaign, please see the web-site of Tulchyn town council (http://tulchyn-rada.org.ua/TPV ), section “Inter-municipal project on integrated approach to solid waste management”.  

It is expected that project implementation will solve the waste challenge in rayon, will improve ecological environment and will become a model to be replicated in other regions of Ukraine.