The Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development has submitted a petition to ban the import of waste for incineration to the Ministry of Environment and Water. The document was sent to Minister Emil Dimitrov on May 28, 2020 (Thursday), when Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Krassimir Zhivkov and five other people were detained in connection with an investigation into the import of waste for incineration.
The petition calls for a veto on the import of waste with code 19 12 10 for energy recovery in Bulgaria, as well as for improved control over the import of all types of waste for recovery, disposal, storage or re-export. One of the measures in this direction is the creation of a public register of imported, deposited, recovered and re-exported waste on the territory of the country, as well as of all companies engaged in this activity along the chain, commented Ilian Iliev from the PECSD. The fact is that in the conditions of limited movement of people and goods across our borders during the state of emergency, the import of garbage from Italy and Great Britain through the Port of Varna continued, Iliev said. According to him, the ambiguity regarding the amount of imported waste, the control of the declared quantity and the one that actually entered the country, as well as the companies that operate with these goods, create opportunities for corruption and abuse of power. Therefore, the ecologist is not surprised by the new arrests in the Ministry of Ecology and regional inspections on the topic of garbage.
A day ago, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that Deputy Minister Krassimir Zhivkov had assisted in issuing notifications for the import of waste mainly from Italy. The evidence also showed that he had indirectly pressured employees of directorates to coordinate notifications of certain companies, even though they did not meet the necessary requirements.
The petition against the import of waste for incineration started from Varna in early February online on peticiq.com. So far, nearly 400 people have signed it. It was sent on paper, together with the signatures of 57 people – participants in the Civil Forum “Conference on Democracy 2020”.
The petition is in its legal nature a proposal within the meaning of the Code of Administrative Procedure. In connection with which the Minister should proceed in accordance with the relevant rules. His commitment is to inform the Prime Minister about the proposal, as well as the Standing Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and Water.
Translator: Valentina Vagge
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Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations
The project “Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations” shall be implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to improve citizens’ awareness of the role of non-governmental organizations in society. This material is established with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The whole responsibility for the content of the document is held by the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development and under no circumstances can this material be considered to reflect the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria.