Kim dissatisfied with the way Mykolaiv City Hall organised the competition for waste sorting

Vitalii Kim, Oleksandr Sienkevych, Photo: Mykolaiv Regional State Administration press service, image edited by AI

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Administrative Body, said that the tender to select a company to build a sorting line in Mykolaiv was not conducted properly and its terms were unfavourable to the community.

He said this in a video message to Mykolaiv residents published on his telegram channel.

«I believe that the city conducted the competition poorly and the conditions for the city are insufficient. It is necessary to either revise them or re-launch the competition,» said Vitalii Kim.

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The head of the region said that at first he did not support the project, but after a public outcry, he came to the conclusion that the city really needs a modern sorting line, but not under the proposed conditions.

Kim also expressed doubts about the winning company's ability to implement the project, as it does not have sufficient experience and staff.

«Indeed, a company that has no experience or people looks strange,» he said.

At the same time, he warned that the current contractor could go to court.

We would also like to remind you that Vitalii Kim believes 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.

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.