Serhiy Otreshko, head of Cherkasy's Department of Road Transport Infrastructure and Ecology, said that the city's garbage situation is close to critical.
The landfill, which was opened in 2012, has been overcrowded for several years, he told the TV show Vycherpno.
Otreshko noted that the opening of another smaller landfill could solve this situation for the next four to five years. However, to finally solve the problem, a waste recycling or incineration plant needs to be built. Without such facilities, Cherkasy will "drown" in garbage.
"The situation in Cherkasy with garbage is not catastrophic, but close to critical. We definitely need to switch to waste incineration and waste processing plants, he emphasized, adding that such a situation with garbage has developed in a number of cities of Ukraine. – The government is taking care of this problem, in particular, after 2030, it will not be possible to dispose of garbage at all at the landfill, but only at the relevant factories."
According to him, the community cannot independently finance the construction of a waste processing plant, because its cost will reach €10-15 million. The city will be able to collect the necessary amount in at least 10 years. Therefore, Cherkasy needs state support to open such a plant.
Otreshko said that earlier the townspeople opposed the idea of building a waste incineration plant due to threats to the environment. However, a landfill in the middle of the forest, he said, also carries such threats. However, it is far away and people do not notice it.
He also gave the example of an incinerator in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the center of the city. Thanks to modern technologies, its impact on the environment is minimal. In addition, Europeans only pay about €5 per month for waste incineration, in addition to other disposal costs, and Ukrainians only pay 40 hryvnias for all services.
Otreshko added that Cherkasy does not have a municipal waste sorting program, and separate collection is carried out only at the initiative of some companies. The city council cannot ensure the disposal and recycling of sorted waste, but only landfilling.
The material adds that every year about 300 thousand tons of solid waste are generated in Cherkasy region, which are taken to landfills, and 10 million tons in Ukraine. Packaging makes up from a third to almost half of this waste.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Oleh Bondarenko, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, said that draft law No. 10066 "On Packaging and Packaging Waste " could be adopted at the 11th or early 12th session of the Verkhovna Rada, i.e. in 2024.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources has developed a draft law "On Environmental Tax for Waste Disposal and Mining Waste Disposal", which provides for a 10-fold increase in the tax rate for mixed household waste disposal.
