«We appealed to everyone, up to Kim and the Pope»: Mykolaiv mayor is waiting for new ideas on waste sorting

A new tender for a waste sorting line may be announced in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, has said that the authorities are open to new proposals on the terms of the tender for the construction of a waste sorting line.

He said this in a conversation with journalists on 26 August, according to NikVesti.

The mayor noted that anyone could submit their ideas and join the discussion, but that activity only emerged after a wave of anonymous publications. He ironically added that the new conditions could be announced by deputies, the head of the RMA Vitalii Kim, or even the Pope.

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«Reading all this rubbish, even I thought something had happened. The city council approved the terms of the competition. The competition took place for a very long time. Anyone could get acquainted and make suggestions. After the paid telegram channels and specific websites that were not interested in Mykolaiv at all wrote about it, everyone became interested in the conditions. We addressed everyone when we were preparing these terms and conditions: «Friends, give us your suggestions». Today, everyone said that the conditions are not very good. Just as then, so now we are saying, please propose new terms and conditions. If you don't want to approve it, don't approve this contract for the winning company. We are announcing a new tender on the terms that will be announced today by the deputies, Vitalii Kim, the Pope...,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

The mayor also said that two decisions will be submitted to the city council session — to approve the current contract or to cancel it. The Department of Housing and Communal Services will prepare amendments to the draft cancellation so that it cannot be challenged in court.

Then, if the decision is made to cancel the contractual terms, the city will announce a new tender. Companies from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and other cities will be invited to participate.

«And then, when we see who else will appear in this competition, it will become clear to everyone who ordered this campaign, that the millionaire washrooms mentioned my name four times a day. I'm wondering who we crossed the road for,» he added.

As you know, on 21 August, the building of Mykolaiv City Council was searched. The next day, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim, said that the tender to determine the company that would build the sorting line in Mykolaiv was conducted improperly and its terms were unfavourable to the community. He also added that Mykolaiv needs to build a modern sorting line, but not on the terms that are currently being proposed for approval by the city council.

Speaking to journalists, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych called the searches of the city council far-fetched and not constituting a crime. The agency interpreted the mayor's statement as an attempt to divert attention from real violations and question the legality of the investigative actions.

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.