Kim: A sorting station for household waste is needed, but on different terms

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, believes that the city of Mykolaiv needs to build a modern sorting line, but not on the terms currently proposed for approval by the city council.

He voiced his opinion in a video message to Mykolaiv residents published on his telegram channel.

It should be noted that yesterday, 21 August, the building of the Mykolaiv City Council was searched in connection with an investment tender for the construction of a waste sorting line in Mykolaiv.

Vitalii Kim, in turn, having studied this project and the conditions under which the tender was held, which was won by «Waste To Energy Niko», noted that it is necessary to either revise the details of the contract or restart the tender.

In addition, Vitalii Kim suggested that there are «stakeholders around the project» who are trying to disrupt it to promote their own interests.

«I know that I signed some permits, that the term for the cemetery was expiring. It was the end of last year. But now, with the scandal that has arisen, I have a different opinion on this issue. In fact, I was against this story because I thought it was unnecessary. When the scandal broke, I started to look into it, and I think it is necessary, but not on the terms it is. To avoid going into the clickbait in detail, I believe that the city has conducted the tender poorly and the conditions for the city are insufficient, and we need to discuss this issue on the terms or re-launch the tender. But there are threats that the company may sue and defend the poor conditions. Now everyone is hype on this topic, but we need to look at the facts legally. There are better conditions than in other cities, and there are worse conditions. So, in order to avoid worse conditions, we need to look at it from the point of view of what the city needs. Of course, the mayor's position is correct in terms of working out the issue of the law, but in what way. It really looks strange for an enterprise that has no experience or people. The second issue is that this has been in the works for many years and perhaps there are no volunteers. We need to invite those who are ready to invest in waste recycling. Let's talk about it, maybe we can come up with a more specific position. My position is that the city needs it, but not on such terms. And we need to talk about the facts, not emotions. Because it seems to me that there is some other stakeholder who wants to disrupt this project and start their own business,» said Vitalii Kim.

Landfill near Mykolaiv

Back in 2020, in a commentary to NikVesti, the mayor of Mykolaiv said that the city's existing landfill would last for another 10 years, i.e. until 2030.

It is located on the territory of Vesnianske village council in Mykolaiv district. The landfill was put into operation in 1972 with a 50-year lifespan, i.e. until 2022. It is designed to dispose of 50 million cubic metres of waste.

The report on the strategic environmental assessment of the draft master plan for Mykolaiv, published in 2018, stated that the city's landfill capacity was 98% exhausted. Therefore, they added, it is imperative to build new modern waste sorting and recycling facilities, introduce separate waste collection, and increase the use of recycled materials.

On 20 May 2024, Mykolaiv selected a company to build a sorting line for solid waste processing. The winner of the tender was «Waste To Energy Niko».

In September 2024, the procedure for the operation of the household waste sorting line and the terms of the tender were agreed upon. It was reported that the sorting line will be able to process up to 70% of waste, and the remaining 30% will be buried. The project stipulates that the company that wins the tender will transfer at least 10% of its profits to the maintenance of the landfill.

The terms of the agreement include a 25-year period of cooperation. There were warnings in the city council that this was too long and could limit the community's flexibility. At the initiative of the chairman of the planning and budgetary commission of the city council, Fedir Panchenko, an alternative draft decision has already been developed — to refuse the agreement with «Waste To Energy Niko» for waste sorting. Earlier, in a commentary to NikVesti, «Waste to Energy Niko», which won the investment tender held by the city council, assured that such a system would not only reduce the load on the city's landfill, but would also allow the city to save money, create new jobs and gain access to international «green» financing.