Waste sorting tender in Mykolaiv: French firm Veolia did not submit a bid; the only application is from the Ukrainian-American group «LNK»

Opening of bids for the waste sorting tender in Mykolaiv, 15 July 2026, photo by “NikVesti”

Only one company submitted a bid for the repeat tender to select the company that will build and operate the waste sorting complex in Mykolaiv — LNK Recycling LLC, part of the Ukrainian-American LNK Group. The French company Veolia, which had previously expressed an interest in participating, did not submit a bid.

This came to light during the opening of the participants’ bids, which took place on 15 July at the Department of Housing and Communal Services of the Mykolaiv City Council, according to a correspondent for NikVesti.

The commission reviewed the package of documents submitted by the company. Its members will begin evaluating the bid next week. To pass the selection process, LNK Recycling LLC must score at least 55 points. After that, the matter can be put forward for consideration at a session of the Mykolaiv City Council, said Ihor Nabatov, first deputy director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services.

«Each member of the commission can award a maximum of 100 points,» Ihor Nabatov clarified in a comment to NikVesti.

Opening of bids from participants in the waste sorting tender in Mykolaiv, 15 July 2026, photo by NikVesti

In its tender proposal, LNK Recycling LLC is requesting a 15-year contract — the maximum term permitted under the tender conditions.

The commission plans to evaluate the bid from LNK Recycling Ltd next week. If the company scores at least 55 points, the matter of determining the winner may be put forward for consideration at a session of the Mykolaiv City Council. According to Ihor Nabatov, First Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services, this could happen as early as August.

Opening of bids for the waste sorting tender in Mykolaiv, 15 July 2026, photo by ‘NikVesti’

For more details on how waste sorting works in other local authorities, what is already being done in Mykolaiv, and why the city needs a sorting facility, read the analysis by “NikVesti” ‘From waste to resource: how the sorting system works in Ukraine and whether Mykolaiv is ready for it’.

LNK Recycling Ltd is headed by Dmytro Goncharov. Until June 2026, the company was led by Yuriy Mostovyi — a former member of the Mykolaiv City Council and ex-director of the municipal enterprise “Mykolaivkomtrans”.

LNK Recycling LLC is wholly owned by Kyiv-based LNK LLC. The group’s owners include six companies registered in the US, specifically in the states of California, Florida and Delaware. These include, amongst others, ‘KZS International Inc’, ‘Green Star Consulting’, ‘Alternative Energy Systems’, ‘Touch Alliance, Inc.’ and ‘Vivo Tech, Inc.’.

The ‘LNK’ group is already active in the waste management sector in Mykolaiv. In particular, the company is involved in biogas production at the city’s solid waste landfill site.

The biogas-to-electricity generation plant built by LNK

In May 2026, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that the French multinational company Veolia was interested in taking part in the tender. According to him, company representatives were to consider submitting a bid once the tender had been announced. However, the city did not receive any applications from Veolia.

For more details on the first waste sorting tender, read the article on NikVesti: «How Mykolaiv plans to start sorting waste».

The situation regarding the construction of the waste sorting facility in Mykolaiv

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This is now the second tender to select the company that will build and subsequently operate the waste sorting complex in Mykolaiv. The city council approved the tender procedure in May 2026.

The issue of waste sorting in Mykolaiv was first raised back in 2019, when the cost of two sorting lines was estimated at approximately 10 million hryvnias. At the time, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych insisted that the costs should be borne by investors, rather than the city budget. Although a waste management programme was adopted, it was never implemented.

The Supreme Court ruled that the city council’s inaction was unlawful and ordered the construction of a sorting line, as the landfill, which has been in operation since 1972, has reached the end of its useful life.

In 2024, councillors approved the operating procedures for the municipal solid waste sorting complex and announced an investment tender. The first tender did not take place, whilst the second was won by Waste To Energy Niko Ltd. However, the company received only the minimum required score, and councillors and the head of the regional state administration, Vitalii Kim, criticised the lack of transparency in the procedure and the unfavourable terms.

Law enforcement agencies opened an investigation and carried out searches at the city council. At the session on 28 August, councillors did not support the approval of the contract with the winning bidder. The city authorities are preparing new terms for the tender. Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that the process would be public, involving international partners, notably from Denmark.

At the session in March 2026, councillors were due to approve the updated operating procedures for the household waste sorting complex. However, the vote failed: there were not enough votes to pass the resolution.