With the decision of the Council of Ministers on restricting the import of waste under the code 19 12 12, adopted on September 8th, 2021, Minister Asen Lichev brought to success the government’s intention, declared in front of members of parliament, to ensure the capacity of Bulgaria for incineration for energy utilization of mechanically-treated household waste generated in Bulgaria, which cannot be recycled and whose landfill disposal should be reduced to the utmost, by limiting the import of such waste as much as possible.

The import will be allowed only in cases where waste quantities generated in the country are not sufficient for the capacity of the installations with complex permits for waste incineration for energy utilization. Periodic information and reports on the import will be provided.

During the parliamentary control on August 27th, Minister Lichev confirmed that the waste intended for incineration for energy utilization consists mainly of RDF modified fuels under the 191210 code and mixed waste under the 191212 code, which according to the classification constitute non-hazardous waste. For the period 2015-2019 in Bulgaria 375 269 tons of RDF modified fuels and 11 434 tons of mixed waste have been imported. 19,775 tons of these were intended for incineration for utilization by thermal power plants, the rest - by cement plants. “During my term in office as caretaker minister, no illegal import of waste has taken place, I have not signed any notification for import of mixed waste under the 19 12 12 code,” Minister Asen Lichev told MPs.

The Minister recalls that the government adopted the National Waste Management Plan until 2028, thanks to which legal grounds were created to take measures by decision of the Council of Ministers against the import of mixed waste, which should rather be disposed of than incinerated, because its harmful emissions are uncontrolled and inadmissible for the territory of Bulgaria.