Mykolaiv extends use of city landfill for another 6 years

Mykolaiv solid waste landfill. Photo: archive NikVesti

Andrii Vetsalo, director of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivkomuntrans», said that the life of the city's solid waste landfill has been extended until 1 July 2031. This was made possible thanks to cooperation with specialised institutes.

This is discussed in the article NikVesti « How Mykolaiv wants to start sorting waste».

According to him, the landfill was originally designed for much larger volumes of waste, as large enterprises operated in Mykolaiv — Black Sea Shipyard, Mykolaiv Shipyard, garment factories, distilleries. But in the 90s, they began to disappear, and the load on the landfill decreased, which made it possible to extend its service life.

«During this time, we need to build a new landfill. We say that by 2030, we must build a new facility. To do this, we need to develop a project and identify a land plot. We are already looking for land to order a project. By the end of the year, we expect to receive a landfill reclamation project, and then we will need to look for funds for reclamation and closure of the old landfill,» said Andrii Vetsalo.

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Why Mykolaiv City Council is considering the construction of a sorting line

The issue of building a waste sorting line in Mykolaiv was first raised in 2019. At that time, Andrii Tsyzin, former director of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivkomuntrans», estimated the need for funding at 10 million hryvnias to extend the life of the existing solid waste landfill by 10 years.

«A sorting line costs about 4 million — that's one, and we need two. With delivery and design, it will cost about 10 million hryvnias. We are now considering the issue of manufacturers: we are looking at lines, who will offer what conditions,» said Andrii Tsyzin.

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At the same time, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that he did not see any point in allocating 10 million hryvnias from the city budget for the construction of the line and believed that investors should do it. He stressed the need for a transparent tender to select a company to implement the project. Three months later, the mayor announced the possibility of building a sorting line at the expense of the city budget or investors.

In 2019, the Mykolaiv City Council adopted decision No. 56/66 on the City Targeted Programme for Household Waste Management, but no measures were taken to build a sorting line, rehabilitate the existing landfill, or design a new landfill. There was virtually no public information on the project's further status.

In May 2020, Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that the line could be launched within six months, but noted that most city residents were not ready for separate waste collection, and therefore the city did not plan to implement additional preparatory measures. This was also confirmed by the current director of «Mykolaivkomuntrans», Andrii Vetsalo. He believed that money for the construction of the sorting line should be allocated from the Mykolaiv budget.

«At the time, we were preparing a decision for the Mykolaiv development programme, but we did not receive enough money. No money, no construction,» explained Andrii Vetsalo, director of «Mykolaivkommunatrans», as to why the waste sorting line was never built.

It was only in 2025 that the Supreme Court of Ukraine ordered the Mykolaiv City Council to build a solid waste sorting line in accordance with the programme approved in 2019. The court ruled that the city council's inaction was unlawful, as its lack of recycling and reclamation measures had led to the expiration of the life of the existing landfill, which had been operating since 1972.

How was the tender for waste sorting in Mykolaiv conducted?

In September 2024, the deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council approved the procedure for the operation of a household waste sorting complex, which became the basis for an investment tender. The winner had to build a sorting line near the landfill.

The first tender was unsuccessful — no company submitted a proposal. During the second selection process, two companies inquired about the terms and conditions, but only one submitted a bid. «In May 2025, Waste To Energy Niko» LLC was announced as the winner, scoring 41.2 points out of 75 possible, slightly exceeding the minimum passing threshold.

The line is to be built within 13 months after the agreement is signed, and the agreement itself is designed to last for 25 years. Some MPs, including the head of the Planning and Budget Commission, Fedir Panchenko, criticised the tender conditions: the closed procedure, lack of competition and the company's questionable financial viability.

According to Dmitriy Goncharov, director of «Waste To Energy Niko», sorting mixed household waste is impossible without additional payment, as the income from the sale of recyclables does not cover the costs of operating the complex. Preliminary calculations show that the sorting fee will be 107 hryvnias per 1 cubic metre of waste, which will increase the monthly bill for one resident of the apartment building by 17.39 hryvnias.

On 21 August, law enforcement officers searched the city council as part of a criminal investigation opened after media reports of possible irregularities during the tender. Investigators seized documents related to the tender.

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.

Vitalii Kim, head of Mykolaiv's regional administration, said that the tender was conducted improperly and its terms were unfavourable to the community. At the same time, he stressed that the city needs a modern sorting line, but on different terms. Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych supported the implementation of the project, which the city has been working on for the past 5 years.

At one session, on 29 August, the deputies did not approve the winner of the tender, so the city authorities are preparing new conditions and will announce a new tender.