The Ukrainian government has introduced new procedures for identifying and recording waste whose owner cannot be established. This is the aim of a resolution adopted on 1 July 2026.
This was announced by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.
A clear mechanism will provide communities and local authorities with a step-by-step procedure to follow when unclaimed waste is identified. The additional tools relate to a multi-step waste management process involving the response to the discovery of unauthorised dumps and their proper recording. The Ministry of Economy is confident that this will make the authorities’ response to such cases faster and more effective and will help ensure that waste is sent for proper recycling.
For its part, the state will be able to monitor the situation in problem areas more effectively. Overall, the new procedure should help bring order to the waste management sector.
The ministry expects the following ‘benefits’ from the implementation of the mechanism:
- reduction in the number of unauthorized landfills;
- lower risk of contamination of soils, water resources, and atmospheric air;
- improvement of the environmental situation in communities.
The adopted resolution is part of the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On Waste Management.”
It should be noted that at the time of publication, the text of the resolution had not yet been posted on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website.
EcoPolitic previously reported that penalties for violations in the field of waste management could increase significantly in Ukraine. In particular, fines may rise to UAH 51,000, and for especially dangerous crimes that threaten people’s safety, prison sentences of up to 10 years are possible.
