Komuntrans is suing residents of Ternivka over payment for rubbish collection

Garbage removal. Archive photo NikVesti

In Mykolaiv, the municipal enterprise Mykolaivkomtrans is suing residents of the Ternivka neighbourhood. Another company used to collect rubbish for the residents, but now they have to pay Komtrans' debts.

The issue was discussed during a meeting of the deputy commission on housing and communal services, according to NikVesti.

The head of the commission, Dmytro Ivanov, noted that there are actually two waste collection companies operating in Ternivka: Mykolaivkomuntrans and Evako.

«Komuntrans says that people have to pay, and over several years they have charged pensioners 5-6 thousand each and taken them to court. These people's lawyer, who happens to be from a competing company, is defending their rights. Komuntrans says that they are illegally collecting rubbish and dumping it wherever they want. When I talked to their competitors, they said that they buy vouchers from Komuntrans, collect rubbish, transport it, and everything they do is legal. But the courts decided that this is unfair competition and that you should take it there, but not there,» said Dmytro Ivanov.

First Deputy Director of the Housing and Utilities Department Ihor Nabatov explained that the court proceedings began after the State Food and Consumer Service issued orders to Mykolaivkomuntrans. The service believed that the company had no legal grounds to require residents to sign contracts. However, Mykolaivkomuntrans appealed these orders in court, and two of the three were overturned as not complying with the law.

«The court determined that Mykolaivkomtrans is a monopoly in the territory where it provides services for the duration of the 2021 tender,» said Ihor Nabatov.

He also explained that the company has the right to enter into a public contract with consumers. That is, a consumer is considered to have agreed to its terms if they have taken actions that confirm their intention to receive the service — in particular, signed an application for accession, paid the bill, actually used the service, or did not express any objections.

«People are violating the current legislation. When they entered into a contract with a carrier that is not legally defined as a utility provider,» added the official.

At the same time, the head of the commission, Dmytro Ivanov, pointed out that these are elderly people who may not understand the legal nuances of concluding contracts. According to him, pensioners are not always familiar with such issues, so it was necessary to explain them to them.

«If Mr. Vetsalo (Director of the municipal enterprise Mykolaivkomuntrans Andrii Vetsalo, — note) collects rubbish, I asked them to talk to people and sign agreements with them. But they all say that this is a public offer, let them go online. What internet? It is a «grandma phone» there. This is a small group — pensioners with small pensions, and the entire burden of the court case has fallen on them,» he said.

Dmytro Ivanov asked for further investigation of the situation and consideration of the possibility of writing off the people's debt.

Earlier it was reported that in Mykolaiv, the tariff for waste collection will not increase for now and will remain the same as it was set in 2024.

As is known, from 1 January 2025, the following tariffs will apply to the municipal enterprise Mykolaivkomuntrans:

• collection and transportation of mixed (solid) household waste — 246.11 hryvnias/cubic metre;
• collection and transportation of bulky household waste — 277.84 hryvnias/cubic metre;
• collection and transportation of household waste from repairs — 277.84 hryvnias/cubic metre.

In addition, the operating period of the municipal solid household waste landfill has been extended until 1 July 2031. This was made possible thanks to cooperation with relevant institutions.

It should be noted that waste sorting in Mykolaiv remained on paper for many years, but in September 2024, the city council approved the operating procedure for the household waste sorting complex and announced an investment competition to select a contractor. The winner of the competition was to build a sorting line near the solid waste landfill and launch a separate waste collection system at the city level.

NikVesti looked into how the competition went, why it was criticised, and what awaits the landfill in the coming years. Read more in our article «How Mykolaiv wants to start sorting waste».