The court stopped the project for a waste incineration plant in the village of Varbovka in Pavliken and sent the decision back for reconsideration at first instance. The case became famous both because of the strong local community organisation, which collected more than 20,000 signatures against it, and because of the unprecedented capacity of the incinerator – it was to burn 1,100 tonnes of waste per day. The 3-year struggle of the people of Varbovka and the region was presented during the 11th edition of the Civic Forum “Conference on Democracy”, which took place at the end of February in Varna. The story of the project for a stone wool plant in the Pavliken village of Varbovka, which is to burn 56 tons/hour of so-called modified fuel, was told by Dimitar Palov from the association “You Decide”. He shared the struggle of the people of the municipality in the topic “When someone wants to burn your land – the case of Vurbovka”.
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), where the project was under appeal, yesterday overturned the decision of the Sofia Region Administrative Court (SRAC). It gave the green light to the company “Petrurgia”, owned by well-known businessman Rumen Gaitanski – Vulka, to build a stone wool plant with an incinerator. The arguments for annulment are that “the evidence presented in the case has not been discussed and there is no comprehensive analysis of the same”. The SAC also rejected the lower court’s position that the RIEW Veliko Tarnovo had violated procedure by holding a second meeting of the Environmental Expert Council.
The arguments of the eco-inspectorate in Veliko Tarnovo not to approve the project include the ambiguity of what will be burned in the installation, because – the investor has not carried out a thorough analysis of the state of the regional waste management systems and the possibility to produce RDF meeting the applicable standard. The court is concerned that this may result in the acceptance of waste that does not meet the requirements. Also, the incineration of this waste creates the potential for contamination with potentially long-lasting effects on the environment and human health. The investment proposal is contrary to the principles of the circular economy and contrary to national and European legislation on waste management.
The facility will use rainwater from the roof structure and its own water source, but according to an inspection report by the Danube Basin Directorate no such borehole exists on the property. It remains unclear how the project will affect the quality of drinking water and water scarcity problems in the Vrbovka area.
Three years ago the public learned about the intention of the company Petrurgia. At the beginning of 2022, the local authorities and the investor organised a public hearing to try to convince local people that the project was safe. The waste incineration plant was conveniently “disguised” as part of a rockwool plant, and the Petrurgia company holds a 35-year concession to mine basalt near Vrbovka. Following strong popular discontent, the municipality withdrew its confidence and voted against the plant. We would like to remind you that the companies of Rumen Gaitanski-Vulka are responsible for garbage collection in several districts of the capital.
The plan is for the facility to have more than twice the capacity of the now cancelled Sofia waste incineration project – 420 thousand tons per year, which means 1,100 tons of waste per day to be delivered from all over the country. The megaproject immediately raised questions as to whether it would only burn waste from Bulgaria or whether the intention was to turn Vrbovka into a centre for incinerating waste from all over Europe.
The composition of the waste was also a serious cause for concern – Bulgaria lacks control over the pre-separation of certain types of waste, such as metals, batteries, electrical and electronic equipment, etc., and the separate collection of hazardous waste from households is extremely inefficient. The result is that the investor will have cheap electricity, which will provide him with a good profit from the stone wool, while the negatives remain for the inhabitants and nature of the municipality of Pavlikeni.
In the photo: Dimitar Palov from the association “You decide” presents “The case of Varbovka” during the Democracy Conference in Varna.
Photo by Georgi Krastev
