You're reading: Government approves concept of waste treatment state program until 2020 worth some Hr 4.7 billion

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a concept of the state program on the waste treatment for the period 2013-2020, which projected volume of financing amounts to Hr 4.656 billion.

According to cabinet resolution No. 22-r of January 3, 2013 posted on
the government’s Web site on Wednesday, Hr 1.715 billion will be taken
from the special fund of the national budget and Hr 2.941 billion will
be sent from local budgets to finance the program.

The program aims at implementing measures of reducing the volume of
waste formation, their collection, transportation, storage, treatment,
recycling, sterilization and burial in order to prevent the negative
impact on environment and human health and introduce the newest
technologies.

The state program will be realized in two stages: at the first stage
(2013-2015) the measures of removing the most environment unfriendly
facilities where toxic waste is stored, reducing the formation of waste
and preventing their illegal disposal, realizing pilot projects on the
construction of landfills and creating facilities to recycle and
sterilize waste.

The second stage of the program (2016-2020) foresees that measures of
creating the modern infrastructure for collection and recycling waste
as recycled materials and the attracting investment in the waste
treatment area will be taken.

The document says that today around 36 billion tonnes of waste or
over 50,000 tonnes per square meter of the territory has been
accumulated in Ukraine according to official data, and only 30% of
industrial waste and 4% of households waste is recycled. The total
volume of accumulated hazardous waste amounts to some 1.6 billion
tonnes.

Over 11 million tonnes of household waste are accumulated on 6,000
landfills with the gross area of around 9,000 hectares and they are
partially recycled at incineration plants. The household waste
collection services are provided only to 75% of households, which
results in the formation of illegal landfills. The major part of the
landfills is overloaded or they are not in line with ecological safety
requirements.

The Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry acts as a state
coordinator and customer of the program. Regional Development,
Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry and Agrarian Policy
and Food Ministry act as state customers of the program.

The Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry is to submit the draft program for the cabinet’s approval within six months.