First topic message reminder :

Hello All

I just wanted to see if other people in other areas are experiencing the same problem that I am now encountering in my village.

Some of the locals seem hell bent on just dumping rubbish where ever they can as long as its not outside their house, we have a large ravine that runs through our village and most if not all the houses sit on or around it, it has become the ideal dumping ground for anything that does not go in the bin.

Its really frustrating and it is really starting to annoy me, our local Mayor has tried to stop this, and even got some of it cleaned up, but yet the next day small piles appear again, its a shame as the drive and the walk around the village is nice, but now we have a problem as some of this rubbish is going to be there for a very long time. as its plastic and metal.

We can speak some Bulgarian, but unfortunately not well enough to speak fluent to the Mayor, so we are going to speak to him through our Bulgarian teacher.

This really is a shame, and despite there being Recycling bins and some big wheelie bins people just seem to ignore them, if we can not get a satisfactory answer to any long term clean up plan then I really am considering moving and that I dont want to do after all our hard work, is this a problem in other villages.

We really do have a nice village, people are friendly and helpful and I know some of these villages are not for everyone but we like it and dont want to move so has anyone been in this situation and done something about, if you have then please get back to me, because apart from getting down there with a rake and 100 bin bags I am at my wits end.

[size=55:23zb050o]novinite 14 September 2010

Sofia Scatters Waste in Four Depots Around Bulgaria



The Bulgarian Parliament has decided that part of the bales of waste from Sofia should be scattered in four waste depots in the country.

According to a solution, adopted Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, the Bulgarian town of Lovech should receive 40,000 tons of waste, the town of Karlovo – 60,000 tons, the village of Tsalapitsa in the region of Plovdiv – 30,000 tons and the town of Sevlievo – 20,000 tons of waste from Sofia.

The bales of waste should be transported until March 31, 2011. Additional money from the state budget will not be spent on the deposit and the transportation would be covered by the Sofia municipality.

According to the Waste Act, the cabinet might decide to use 10% of the free capacity of waste depots, which have been built with more than 50% state funding.

The four waste depots that have been chosen by the Parliament comply with this requirement.

"
There has to be a solution of the municipal councils, the towns have to agree and there has to be a contract between the municipalities for the price of the deposit,"
said Petar Kurumbashev, MP from the left-wing Coalition for Bulgaria.

The mayors of the city of Plovdiv and the town of Sevlievo have announced they do not agree with the decision of the Parliament.

"
I stated long ago my position on the Sofia waste – we should not accept a gram of it anymore, after the government lied to us about the compensations for the previous 100,000 tons of waste we received at Tsalapitsa,"
said the mayor of Plovdiv, Slavcho Atanasov.

He added that the government's position was "
impudent"
.

"
Plovdiv should stop solving Sofia's waste problems for free,"
Atanasov said.

The mayor of Sevlievo, Yordan Stoykov, has also stated that the solution of the Council of Ministry was unacceptable and that it would create many ecological problems.

On the other hand, the mayor of Lovech, Mincho Kazandzhiev, has announced the acceptance of the Sofia waste. According to him, it was natural that in times of crisis the state is looking for a solution waste depots that have already been built and that the rest of the country should be supportive.

A case of anywhere but my back yard

I think your right there nu2bg but if you thought about it Sofia is the only place that the government are really interested in

Not quite true therowfamily. We have nice new green bins in our Village which in theory get emptied every two weeks . But in practice its when they remember and when they don't its rubbish everywhere . But the rubbish men do try and clear some of the muck away that's scattered around

I think you must be one of the luck few

Bulgarian Mayor "
Plovdiv Is Not Sofia's Dumpsite"


The Mayor of Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv, Slavcho Atanasov, warned about civil unrest if the capital Sofia sends more of its waste there.

"
The tensions in my city are escalating, the topic is very unpopular and I forecast serious trouble if more of Sofia's garbage starts flowing in our direction. Plovdiv is not the capital's dumpsite,"
Atansov told the TV channel bTV, commenting on the decision of the Plovdiv City Hall to legally appeal the cabinet's order to deposit the waste in the nearby Tsalapitsa landfill.

According to Atanasov, the order also hurts the residents of Sofia. He blamed all district mayors in the capital of failing to find a feasible solution to the problem.

On another issue, the support the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) is considering giving Atanasov for the 2011 local elections so that he can serve a second term in office, the latter stated, he, himself, had not yet made the decision to run, adding a successful mayor is ofter offered support from the entire political spectrum.

Atanasov was elected on the ballot of the nationalist VMRO party, but after internal disagreements VMRO split and he founded his own fraction - "
Faith, Moral, Patriotism, Responsibility,"
abbreviated as VMRO-NIE.

I think as already said Sofia seem to think that Bulgaria revolves around Sofia, perhaps they should rename Bulgaria to Sofia because the way I see it this is where all the money is spent you only have to look at other parts of Bulgaria to realise that something is not right as far as EU money is concerned, slightly off topic I know but still relevant to what is happening out there

cheekychops wrote:

I think as already said Sofia seem to think that Bulgaria revolves around Sofia, perhaps they should rename Bulgaria to Sofia because the way I see it this is where all the money is spent you only have to look at other parts of Bulgaria to realise that something is not right as far as EU money is concerned, slightly off topic I know but still relevant to what is happening out there

Well put and how true

How 'green' is Bulgaria?







The quick answer is that it is very green right now. Recent weeks of rain keep trees, bushes, and grasses in and out of cities fresh and chlorophyll-rich. Even with the bright cascade of yellow leaves that the Roma women sweepers whisk up all day long, greenery abounds, even in late October.

In my temporary city of Plovdiv, the topped-up Maritza River keeps vegetation thriving along its banks, the rain-blackened bark of trees sprouts new growth, moisture darkens the soil of parks and hills, and the air smells not just of pleasant decay but of quenched musky earth. That apparently wafts up from fragrant bacterial spores in the soil bounced aloft by raindrops. The pleasures of this wet, green autumn stimulate multiple senses.

However, visual blight offsets sensuous pleasures – trash lies just about everywhere. A wet blanket of plastic, paper, and glass blemishes the ground, pavements, and hillsides. The locals seem to sow this toxic crop deliberately as if to reap a noxious harvest. Instead of winter wheat, they lay down a year-round garland of garbage, sad adornments to a health-conscious land that touts its yoghurt, honey, rose lotions, and body-building, but also where a quarter or more of the population still smokes.

In squares and plazas one spies occasional containers for this unnatural cornucopia – green for glass, blue for cardboard, and yellow for plastic. But people toss just about anything into these ECO-PAK recycling bins and seem not to differentiate them from the regular all-purpose containers that line side streets. Scarce and misused, ECO-PAKs stand as silent, half-filled witnesses to a failure of consciousness about trash and its effects on the land, and on us.

My Plovdiv University students abhor this junked landscape and eagerly agreed to a clean-up sweep of our own university front yard, decked out as it is with discarded plastic water bottles. Perhaps enrolling in my course in Environmental Approaches to American Literature provides some impetus for wanting a hands-on experience in ecological fix-up. But any stimulus would likely motivate these with-it college seniors. It seems no one has asked them to pitch in. Consciousness about environmental repair seems absent here, so no one takes initiative, gets a bag and picks things up. Trash here is in sight and out of mind – or is it?

You may have heard of Balkan gloom – that bleak cultural atmosphere that used to hover over the tortured peninsular lands of south-east Europe, including Bulgaria. But even with EU accession and somewhat improved economic prospects, that gloom lingers. Corruption, sinking standards of living, and a limited future drain off lots of personal energy, especially from the young, who often dream not of home-grown success but of emigration.

Components of the current gloom have to include the psychological effects of a disorienting, unhealthy townscape. Things shift from new glass and steel tower blocks to sagging, rusting homesteads all within a few metres of each other. Mounds of bags, cups, food wrappers, picked over by dogs and cats, fester by the side of ultra-modern store fronts. Turn your head, the scene flips from gloom to glory and back to gloom again.

Walking anywhere but along the grand promenade requires deft footwork since broken paving, dented, wobbly grates, abandoned work sites strewn with debris, and ominous openings seem to tilt one toward oblivion. It’s a dizzy dance through a scary urban "
fun house"
. This reminds one of how uncaring of others we can be, a gloomy thought sure enough. Add graffiti, peeling posters, and grim photo death notices and it can push gloom to blind denial.

Some places are refreshing. The central park near the main square is very clean, requiring full time attention from the women eco-workers just to sweep around and empty the stubby trash containers. Many people will use them when they are available and not overflowing. That’s the first problem – not enough or big enough public trash bins.

But climbing venerable stairs up one of Plovdiv’s ancient hills for photo prospects, one comes across crevasses, cracks in rocks, alcoves stuffed with garbage, as if stashed for a future archaeology of trash. It’s mainly ephemera but it could last for ages – plastic bags, bottles, some electronic components and plenty of paper, on hill and dale and spread on open ground. It dominates the current settlement of old Philippopolis.

All of this un-recycled trash reminds one of the extravagance of modern society everywhere – over-consuming, useless products, mounds of packaging. In cash-strapped Bulgaria, near the bottom of the EU economic ladder, it’s doubly obvious.

However, just a little better management of the city’s "
ecos"
or household, which is where the words "
ecology"
and "
economy"
originate, could spruce up the town’s look, its health, and the general mood as well.

The appeal to one’s green, altruistic consciousness may have played out here without much effect. Any local "
green"
organisation or activism seem invisible even if you search them out. Until further systemic revisions of the deep infrastructure – sewers, garbage, water, streets, run-off, transportation, pavements, etc. – make a bit more headway, ordinary citizen involvement could necessarily focus on the surface stuff. But that’s important.

A new tack may appeal to the Bulgarian flair for fashion and strength, particularly in the young. The women here are mainly thin and shapely and the men buff or working on it. Physical health and beauty motivate interest in sports, clothing, make-up, and demeanour.

A Bulgarian environmental programme that portrayed trash as a sign of sloppy style and unfit, out-of-shape civic bodies might just shift consciousness and promote clean-up. The slogan, "
Give Plovdiv a Makeover"
could turn a few heads to want to deep cleanse the smudged face of the city. One that urged a physical tune up, such as "
Buff Up Plovdiv,"
might just see a few more folks twisting and bending their bodies to get more things into what bins there are.

The university and the environmental community could promote ecological civic engagement by holding a conference on Plovdiv’s very prominent environmental feature – the Maritsa River itself. Multi-disciplinary study and reports on the biological health, aquatic and riparian creatures, and basic economics of the river would likely show its intrinsic value to the city and region. It’s taken for granted, un-remarked, but a prime candidate for renewed emotional attachment and respect. Historical review of its ancient past and living present would highlight its influential association with Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey as well.

The Humanities areas can showcase that history as well as art and literature treating the river’s impact on local lives. Galleries, writing groups, and schools could sponsor exhibitions and readings inspired by the Maritsa’s "
cultural flow"
through the life of the community.

Throughout this "
eco-festival,"
the environmental health of the river would get proper attention and the impact of trash, urban and rural run-off, and industrial toxins would be revealed.
Perhaps more than anything to Plovdivians, the daily presence of so dominant a natural feature as the Maritsa would remind all that keeping it in shape requires attention to the greenness of both city and river – their interdependent ecological health. The fitness, beauty, and mental and physical health of ordinary people surely depend on it.

Less plastic bags in Bulgaria



Bulgarian citizens find it a common thing to see flying plastic bags in the streets or around their flats. These items not only make the view uglier, but also pollute the environment since they are not biodegradable. Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters will start to teach the average consumer how to behave more “ecologically” as of mid-2011. How will that happen? Well, the best option is the oldest one – fining.

The Ministry will implement a product fee for the thinnest and most widely spread plastic bags in the summer of 2011. Thus the producers and shippers of up to 15 microns thick plastic bags will have to pay BGN 0.5 for each item, released on the market. The fee will be increased step-by-step each year and in 2014 it will be BGN 0.55 per bag. Currently plastic bags are offered for free at the stores and markets, since their trade price is too low. Traders will determine their price after the implementation of the fee. Then customers themselves will have to decide whether they will continue to pay for plastic bags or will start using reusable ones. Experts of the Environmental Ministry say that some 1,5 bln. plastic bags are used in Bulgaria per year. If people give up their usage, they will save BGN 55 from their budget in 2011, while in 2014 the sum will be BGN 400. National research says that 85% of the Bulgarians support the ministry’s initiative for reducing the number of plastic bags used.

“Our goal is not to collect money, but to implement a fee that will be high enough to make the consumers give up the usage of plastic bags – Bulgarian Environmental Minister Nona Karadjova explained. – The citizens of many ecologically conscious countries have been using reusable bags for a very long time. We do not aim at the creation of systems for collection and recycling of those bags, since they cannot be recycled. The idea is a measure to be implemented that will stimulate the consumers to select reusable bags. Producers on the other hand will have to fix their appliances for the production of reusable bags or to start doing something else.”

According to the Ministry of Environment and Waters these bags are not the only thing, produced by these companies. Besides that they can fix their appliances and start producing thicker reusable bags that can be recycled.

‘Currently there is no standard for biodegradability in Europe – Minister Karadjova says. – There are still few cases of biodegradable bags produced at the moment. It is more a question of experiments. These bags are quite expensive and their mass production is not implemented yet. Many plastic bags on the Bulgarian market are labeled “biodegradable”. However, they are made of the so-called degralen. It means that they are disintegrated into numerous pieces, but do not decay as an organic product.”

The Bulgarian Association Polymers will create a public register of producers and importers that have to pay the new fee. The Ministry of Environment and Waters will control the situation via checks and citizens are also expected to give signals, according to Minister Karadjova.

This is looking good I'm sick of picking up plastic bags that have blow all over the place in the wind I just hope it does what it says on the can ? as we all know Bulgaria always seems slow to grab these new changes

Finally! But i'll be surprised if the law is enforced.

They still give out silly plastic bags at Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco and all the other stores in the UK, but you never get given a plastic bag in any store in BG. So I think that maybe BG is in front on this one. You pay for a Kaufland and a Billa bag. Can't say that I have seen any of these bags flying around in the wind. General rubbish yes and lots of it. But not store bags.

Perhaps your lucky Tony but you only have to look at the pictures on here to see that there are bags flying about all over the countryside

Yes carmen there bags flying all over the place but my point is that they are not supermarket throw away bags. The rubbish problem is generated by lack adequate clearing. In my village we have big bins but they only get emptied in theory once a fortnight in practice it is when they come maybe once a month. But the bins do not have supermarket bags in them.