WASTE MANAGEMENT

After Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, new standards, procedures and requirements were envisaged towards activities related to waste production and treatment and towards operators performing such activities and services, the main purposes of their enforcement being to establish firm control mechanisms and to set up guarantees for better waste recovery and environment protection in general.

As of present date, this particular branch of Bulgarian law is mainly governed by the Waste Management Act and the Environment Protection Act, along with a wide range of sub-legislative acts issued by different state administrative authorities regulating different types of waste (household, construction and demolition, industrial, electric and electronic, water, gas, radioactive, hazardous waste etc) and the respective activities they may be subject to (collection, transport, dismantling, treatment and processing, recovery, trading, storage etc).

Activities including collection, transport, temporary storage, pre-treatment, dismantling, recovery and/or disposal of waste are subject to authorization by the respective public body. Permits are issued for up to five years by the Director of the respective Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water or by the Minister of Environment and Water, depending on the type of waste and the territorial scope of the operations.

Merchants holding a license from the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism may trade in ferrous and non-ferrous metal waste (the license being issued for an unlimited term). Import, export and transit of waste through the territory of Bulgaria are also subject to strict conditions, including authorization which is issued for six months or for twelve months respectively, depending on whether the import/export/transit will be executed only once or repeatedly.

Entities that release on the market products after the use of which mass distribution waste is generated are obliged to arrange their separate collection and to ensure achievement of the respective targets for recycling and waste recovery. Such entities may fulfill this obligation through collective waste recovery organizations, which operate after acquiring authorization from the Minister of Environment and Water.

Control measures at the various levels of authority are a very important part of waste management regulations. Competence and powers are allocated between municipal mayors, directors of the regional inspections of environment and water, the Minister of Environment and Water, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, the Minister of Interior etc.

The organization and treatment of waste within the territory of the municipalities is responsibility of the municipal mayors. Commonly, mayors assign those activities through awarding of public procurements.