Illegal dumps in Mykolaiv: how much does it cost to clean up garbage and why the problem persists

The city of Mykolaiv regularly records the appearance of illegal landfills, and their cleaning costs the city tens of millions of hryvnias every year. According to official information from the Department of Housing and Communal Services, in 2024 alone, more than 149,000 cubic metres of unauthorised waste were removed, and in the first five months of 2025, more than 56,000 more.

These are not isolated cases. This is a stable problem that recurs in the same places: on street corners, near cooperatives, along roads and in green areas. The budget allocates funds for cleaning, but the causes of the dumps are often ignored.

At the same time, residents of Mykolaiv see new piles of garbage every day near containers, in green areas and on river slopes. The reasons for this are complex: from the irresponsible behaviour of individuals to problems with infrastructure and the lack of an effective regulatory policy.

Mykolaiv has spent ₴140 million to eliminate illegal landfills over 5 years

Mykolaiv has a distributed system of responsibility: district administrations conclude contracts with contractors who clean up the territory. For example, in Zavodskyi and Ingulskyi districts, such contracts are executed by the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivkomuntrans». In the Central district, it is «VALAN», and in the Korabelny district, it is KP «Obriy-DKP» and FOP Zverenko Olena Mykolaivna.

Over the past 5 years, from 2021 to 2025, the budget of Mykolaiv has spent (allocated in 2025) a total of more than UAH 140 million on «the elimination of» illegal landfills in the city. This was reported to «NikVesti» by the city's Department of Housing and Communal Services in response to an information request.

Andriy Vetsalo, director of «Mykolaivkomuntrans», explains: the company works both according to schedules (daily, weekly) and responds to emergency requests from administrations. There are addresses that are on the list of constantly problematic ones, including Zaliznychna Street, areas near cooperatives, and areas between high-rise buildings where waste has been accumulating for years.

The so-called «grey» drivers - unofficial carriers with whom some condominiums or entrepreneurs enter into agreements - are often cited as a source of problems. The tariffs of such companies do not provide for the removal of oversized waste, so it ends up on the street.

To alleviate the situation, the utility company arranges special concrete platforms where it installs large-capacity containers, the so-called «boats». According to Vetsal, the company finances part of the infrastructure on its own.

«"We are trying to unload the districts, installing 'boats', large containers, and financing part of the infrastructure on our own. Unfortunately, this does not solve the problem completely»," said Andriy Vetsalo.

However, even with containers, some of the problems remain - due to narrow yards overloaded with cars. Sometimes a garbage truck cannot physically reach the container site. In this case, residents simply dump the waste on a convenient street corner.

Positive examples - but rare

The head of the Central District Administration, Oleksandr Bereza, says that in some places they have managed to change the situation. For example, at the intersection of 9th Voennaya and Bezymennaya streets, there used to be a spontaneous dump for years. It was cleaned up, the area was landscaped, and no more garbage is dumped there.

«It works only where you take a comprehensive approach - both cleaning and landscaping»," says Bereza.

Large containers have also been installed in problematic areas, including 7 Slobodska, Karazina, 68 Desantnykiv and 1 Slobodska streets. However, this does not affect a systemic change in the situation: in most places where landfills appear, the problem has remained stable for years.

Bereza emphasises that even with the technical ability to clean up regularly, it often comes down to the culture of the citizens.

What the city does not do

Both the utility company and the head of the district administration, whom «NikVesti» spoke to, agree that the current model of territory maintenance is reactive, not proactive. The city removes garbage, but does little to prevent it from being thrown away. There are no information campaigns, educational activities, or budget initiatives to prevent landfill formation in the housing and communal services programme.

There are also no effective control tools: there is no video surveillance at problem areas, the penalty policy does not work, and the detection of violators is sporadic.

At the same time, there were government online tools in Ukraine that allowed citizens to record illegal dumps, such as «and the Ministry of Environmental Protection's». However, according to the ministry, after a cyberattack in January 2022, the service was suspended and its further development stopped due to non-compliance with modern data protection standards. At the time, the Ministry of Environment promised to develop a new online map of unauthorised landfills, but this did not happen.

The Ministry of Ecology called for reporting landfills to the hotline 0800 500 115. However, this mechanism does not have interactive visualisation, does not allow for monitoring of implementation and is not widely known among residents.

How to change the situation

Global experience shows that the fight against illegal dumps is effective only when several components are combined - technical cleaning, a control system, education and community involvement. Let's look at a few examples.

In the Indian city of Patna, the Swachhata Pakhwada campaign is an annual clean-up marathon that cleans more than 650 pollution-prone areas. In addition, a list of offenders is published - the so-called Sadak Shatru («enemies of the streets») - and fines are imposed. The campaign is accompanied by educational activities for schoolchildren and residents.

In Australia, local authorities received a grant of 80 thousand Australian dollars for a campaign against illegal dumping. The money was used to buy cameras, information boards, and fund investigations of dumpsites. Over two years, more than 450 tonnes of garbage were removed.

USA, New Haven: the authorities, together with the community, initiated the project «Fair Haven, Clean Haven». Residents, schools, and volunteers together cleaned up 15 «chronic» points, after which they installed signs "cleaned - don't litter" and held a series of environmental education workshops.

In the city of North Geelong in Australia, cameras with computer vision were installed that automatically detect illegal dumping. This allowed them to identify dozens of violators, reduce the workload on staff and impose fines based on the facts.

What else helps other cities and can work in Mykolaiv

Practical solutions from the US experience, in particular from the report of the Centre for Community Progress, show that landfill prevention is not just about fines and cleaning. Here are the tools that are used there:

• Grass mowing and maintenance of empty lots. A well-groomed area looks «lively» and less attractive for dumping. State-owned land is allocated funds for maintenance, and owners of private land are required to maintain order.
• Lighting and visual control. Lighting, signs «, video surveillance», patrols and other signs of activity deter those who want to dump waste unnoticed.
• Physical barriers. Large stones, concrete flowerbeds, fences or bollards restrict access and prevent the use of the area for unauthorised dumping.
• Urban interventions: benches, landscaping, and elements of beautification. If residents see that the space is equipped and used by someone, they are less likely to turn it into a dump.
• Accessible information. Signage near containers, announcements on receipts, online instructions: how to remove bulky waste, when collection days are scheduled, where to find official carriers.
• Free collection days. Cities organise periodic events when residents can hand over old furniture, household appliances, tyres or hazardous waste without queuing or paying.

Successful cases prove that results are achieved when a city combines daily cleaning with systematic work, such as video surveillance, fines, educational campaigns, and physical changes to the space.

In Mykolaiv, however, there is no holistic strategy yet: the city only removes what has already accumulated, but does not create conditions in which landfills will not occur. This means that budget expenditures on garbage will continue to grow - along with the chronic fatigue of residents from «the endless struggle».

Kateryna Sereda, NikVesti