Ukrainian communities have a certain degree of freedom in interpreting the “environmental friendliness” of initiatives. Due to ambiguous regulations, the funds paid by polluters for contaminating air, water, and soil are not directed at eliminating the root causes of pollution but rather at masking its effects. Volyn region is no exception. Here, most of the environmental tax revenue literally “went down the drain” – that is, it was spent on the construction and reconstruction of sewage facilities. Some funding was also allocated for waste management and landscaping.
EcoPolitic analyzed the situation in Volyn region for its series of articles on the use of the environmental tax.
Regional environmental program
The Volyn Regional State Administration (Volyn RSA) presented its vision for environmental protection in an environmental program with an unambiguous title, “Ecology 2023-2026”. However, the program’s measures are not so straightforward.
For example, a number of initiatives are devoted to wastewater management – construction of treatment facilities, repair of separate sewerage systems, and replacement of equipment.
In the “Rational Use of Plant Resources” section, alongside increasing forested areas, the program also includes landscaping populated areas, in particular on enterprise territories. Both of these activities, however, will mainly be funded by the companies themselves.
A significant section is dedicated to waste management. In particular, there are plans for the construction of facilities, the purchase of equipment and units for sorting and processing municipal solid waste, and ensuring waste collection and disposal.
The region intends to finance these activities, in particular, from the regional Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). In 2025, the regional administration reported on the interim implementation of the environmental program. From the news, we learned that the size of the regional ecological fund amounted to 10.4 million UAH. How was this money spent?
- 1.5 million UAH – for the reconstruction of the sewage network of the Berestechko psycho-neurological boarding school;
- 1.1 million UAH – for the repair of a sewage pumping station with replacement of sewer pipes and the arrangement of a separate waste collection site at the Lutsk geriatric boarding house;
- 1.5 million UAH – for the construction of the central sewage network in the village of Pulmo;
- 100 thousand UAH – for the purchase of consumable supplies for conducting environmental campaigns and producing environmental-themed promotional printed materials;
- 3.3 million UAH as a targeted subvention transferred to local budgets. During the reporting period, almost 800 thousand UAH of these funds were utilized. For example, Dubivska community spent these funds on the restoration of reclamation canals, while Liublynetska community – on the repair of a sewage pumping station.
Environmental protection programs of smaller communities
The environmental program of the Ovadnivska community in the Volodymyr district for 2026-2030 is quite modest. It provides for the implementation of seven measures, including the purchase of waste containers with the arrangement of waste collection sites and, of course, landscaping of the village council’s territory.
The community will also “take care of the environment” by clearing up the aftermath of windstorms, repairing hydraulic structures on irrigation canals, and maintaining the technical condition of artesian wells.
It is also stated that the funds of the State, Regional, and Rural Community Environmental Protection Fund (ONPS) are listed as one of the sources for financing these initiatives.
In the Horodyshche Village Council, there is simply no separate environmental program – it has been merged with the improvement program. However, considering the widespread practice of including greening activities, the arrangement of container sites, or installation of waste bins as part of environmental protection programs, this approach is at least honest.
Ironically, the program is entitled “Improvement and Protection of the Natural Environment of the Settlements of the Horodyshche Village Council for 2026–2028,” while all the actions listed appear under the heading “Improvement.”
This program clearly demonstrates just how fine the line is between environmental protection and improvement, and how freely communities can interpret these concepts. In the document from the Horodyshche community, we can see the following activities:
- monthly campaigns for improvement and sanitary cleaning of areas;
- improvement of areas around educational institutions, planting of vegetation;
- cleaning in parks, squares, and along roads;
- introduction of separate waste collection with the purchase of containers and a garbage truck.
In other words, almost everything that other councils usually “greenwash” and add to their environmental protection programs-without transparently labeling them as “Improvement.”
Experts are confident that the rational use of the environmental tax should be the support of eco-modernization and decarbonization of industry, which would help to reduce emissions.
