Transcript A vision for the the Bulgarian waste sector

A vision for the Bulgarian
waste sector
National Waste Work Shop
Plovdiv, 24 November 2008
Carsten Rasmussen
Deputy Head of Unit
European Commission DG Regional Policy
[email protected]
Content
Requirements to a functional waste sector
Caracteristics of EU waste systems
Waste techniques
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Incineration
Mechanical Biological Treatment
Refuse Derived Fuel
Landfilling
State of play of the Bulgarian waste sector
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Techniques
Waste organisation
Financing
Conclusions and recommendations
REQUIREMENTS TO A
FUNCTIONAL WASTE SECTOR
Conformity with
the acquis
Sustainability
Financial viability
Timely
implementability
Waste Techniques
Choice of technique depends on financing and
availability of potential land fill site
Cost trend:
Incineration
Incineration
Landfill and
Most costly
MBT
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Landfill
Costs
Caracteristics of EU Waste
Systems
 Waste reduction needed, preferably upstream
 Variety of techniques available for waste
treatment
 Incineration
 Mechanical Biological Treatment
 Refuse Direved Fuel
 Land filling
 Systems partly revenue generating
 Tariff financed (in Bulgaria: tax like)
Techniques:
Incineration
 Incineration most expensive, but attractive in
densely populated areas
 Energy recovery, yes, but high costs for
environmental compatibility
 Negative incentives to waste reduction
Techniques:
Mechanical Biological Treatment
 Attractive, as it allows to increase recycling and
reduce land filling
 But attention to workers’ health
 Expensive, but modulable: Does everybody need a
Rolls Royce?
Techniques:
Refuse Derived Fuel
 Attractive to avoid land filling
 Linked to MBT
 But expensive and dependant on incineration
capacity (cement factories etc)
Waste techniques
Landfilling
 Least expensive
 Limited investments up front
 Should be combined with some form of MBT
Bulgaria: State of Play
 Conformity required as from accession
 Waste regions
 7 conform
 7 en route
 7 to be prepared
 Beyond Sofia, large part of the country de
facto facing infringement procedure
 Financing available: 363 million €, plus
national co-financing
Bulgaria:Waste Organisation
 Waste is municipal competence
 Economies of scale available, hence trend towards multi-
municipal co-operation
 Need to avoid the Hungarian Cheese
The Hungarian Cheese
Bulgaria: Waste Organisation
(continued)
 Based on our experience, we recommend a minimum of top
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down incentives:
Legal obligation to co-operate
Or, financial incentive, e.g. financing exclusively available to
regional projects
For regional systems, need for sound cooperation organisation
E.g. holding company, owning assets
Need to protect co-operation structure from break up
financial commitment from municipalities to common
organisation
Need to careful organisation of operations – private operators,
public operating company
Great potential (and some risks) linked to Public Private
Partnership models
Bulgaria:
Financing
 Need for sustainable system
 Hence tariff setting must include operation and
replacement
 The EU financing is only available once
 Don’t come back with new requests in 7 years!
 Please note: No EU co-financing ever made in
this sector in Slovakia
 EU plus state financing not sufficient in this
period
 Scope for municipal co-financing
 EIB and/or EBRD loans could be available
Bulgaria:
Financing (continued)
 Need to consider total financing needs up
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front
Recommend budgetary allocation to each
waste region, depending on needs
7 ,7,7
Need for fair and transparent model
Note: Article 55 of the regulation cannot
serve as a method to establish a fair and
transparent national grant system
Bulgaria:
Financing (continued)
 Recommend model with some local financing
 Co-financing could be modulated according
to:
 Density (natural economy of scale) and GDP
(affordability)
Bulgaria
Techniques
Considering:
costs
limited funding
relatively low density of population
Landfills with limited, but upgradable MBT
seem the obvious choice
Conclusions and recommendations
to Bulgaria
 Projects elaborated based on regional budget
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allocations
Financing only available for regional projects
Land fill with source separation, limited but
upgradable MBT realistic
EU, State, Municipal (EIB-EBRD loan
financed)
Tariffs including operations, replacement
(amortisation)