The authorities plan to remove the legal uncertainty that still exists regarding waste resulting from the demolition of warehouses, retail premises and catering establishments. This is to be addressed by a relevant government resolution, the draft of which was published by the Ministry of Economy and the Environment on 4 September.
EcoPolitic outlines the key changes set out in the document.
This refers to the draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers ‘On amendments to the procedures approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolutions No. 473 of 19 April 2022 and No. 1073 of 27 September 2022’.
The scale of the problem
In Ukraine, there is still no clear procedure for dealing with waste resulting from damage and destruction. And the volume of such waste is growing all the time.
In the last year alone, over 500,000 m2 of logistics property has been damaged. In the explanatory note, the authors mention the Novus logistics centre in Kyiv, which covers an area of over 50,000 m2, the ‘Epicentre’ warehouses, and the destruction of the UN World Food Programme warehouse in Dnipro. And such facilities are increasingly becoming targets for enemy attacks.
Key changes
The Ministry of Economy is proposing to extend the general procedures for managing demolition waste to buildings with the aforementioned functions.
All this vast volume of construction waste needs to be stored somewhere, so the decree also introduces a mechanism for determining sites for the temporary storage of demolition waste. It will also specify how long this ‘temporary’ storage will last.
Separately, the resolution sets out the procedure for identifying, recording and inspecting waste resulting from destruction. In particular, this may take place following a request from the owner or manager of a property that has been damaged or destroyed.
The draft also clarifies the powers of the relevant authorities, as well as the mechanism for including temporary storage sites and the relevant damaged properties in the specified lists.
Furthermore, the document sets out the requirements stipulating that debris from demolition work must not be collected in household waste bins.
Back in March 2024, the authorities stated that over 600,000 tonnes of rubble had been generated. However, there are no definitive figures on the exact amount. Later, experts expressed doubts about the accuracy of the data collection and also pointed out the lack of records for specific types of waste.
