Mykolaiv region lacks funds to create a regional waste management plan

The place of storage of demolition waste at the city landfill in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

Mykolaiv region still does not have an updated regional waste management plan. The previous document expired in 2020, and the new one has not been completed due to lack of funding.

This is discussed in the article by NikVesti: «From Reform to Reality: How Mykolaiv Region Fights Garbage Without a Regional Plan».

In 2020, the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration ordered the development of the plan for more than 2 million hryvnias. The contractor was Lviv-based «INTERROIL SERVICE», which agreed to perform the work for 1.8 million hryvnias. The plan was supposed to be created in five stages, but due to budget cuts, only two of them and part of the third were implemented. The region has not received the finished document.

Screenshot of the tender from the Prozorro system

According to Alla Riazhskykh, head of the environmental commission of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, the document now needs to be revised, as the legislation in the field of waste management has changed significantly.

«I don't think it is possible to finalise such a serious document in two months. Some sections already exist, but significant changes have taken place since the beginning of the development. We need to update the analytical data and adapt the plan to the new requirements», said Riazhskykh.

The Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration explains that it is not yet possible to complete the plan due to a sharp decline in environmental tax revenues after 2022. The shutdown of large industrial enterprises and ports has reduced the income of the trust fund that finances environmental programmes.

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«The regional administration has repeatedly asked civil society and international organisations to help finance the completion of the Regional Waste Management Plan. This is an important document for creating a modern waste management system in the community», the regional administration said.

It is worth reminding that in Ochakiv, with the support of donors, they want to install a waste sorting line: it will require about 20 million euros.

Meanwhile, in Mykolaiv, the issue of waste sorting was raised back in 2019, when the need for two lines was estimated at around 10 million hryvnias. At the time, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych insisted that the costs should be borne by investors, not 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 had been operating since 1972, had exhausted its resources.

In 2024, the deputies approved the procedure for the operation of the solid waste sorting facility and announced an investment tender. The first failed, and the second was won by «Waste To Energy Niko». However, the company received only the minimum required score, and the deputies and the head of the RMA Vitalii Kim criticised the closed procedure and unfavourable conditions.

Law enforcement officers opened proceedings and searched the city council. At the session on 28 August, the deputies did not support the approval of the contract with the winner. The city authorities are preparing new tender conditions. Oleksandr Sienkevych said the process would be public, involving international partners, including Denmark.