One of the many village dumps
A major component of Phase IV of the Bulgaria Resource Cities Program (BRCP) was the establishment of a group partnership between three Bulgarian municipalities and a US resource group to address regional environmental issues. The municipalities of Elhovo, Bolyarovo, and Tundja were selected to participate in the program. These three municipalities varied in size, yet were all relatively small with rural communities, and all faced certain challenges regarding solid waste management. The majority of the solid waste generated in both Tundja and Bolyarovo consisted of material that could be easily composted. All three municipalities possessed problems with illegal dumping and sought to remedy this situation, whether by providing collection services to the rural villages or constructing a transfer station.
The US resource group consisted of two city officials with strong backgrounds in solid waste management - Sarah Phillips, City Manager of the Village of Johnstown, Ohio and Willard Bruce, Commissioner, Department of General Services, City of Albany, New York. During the first visit in February 2003 the Action Plan was developed and Solid Waste Management and Cost-Benefit Methodologies were identified as the two primary areas of cooperation.
Under the Solid Waste Management Project, chief objectives included reducing the amount of waste being disposed of through the separation of organic waste from solid waste, and utilizing organic waste through the implementation of a composting program in each municipality. The three municipalities each identified a village to be piloted for the composting and source separation project, provided a container for solid waste, and identified an area for dumping the organic waste in each of the villages. The US experts supplied information to the municipalities related to the nature and benefits of composting and how the finished compost could be used within the village. Seven composting sites are now operational in the three Bulgarian municipalities, eliminating the illegal dumps that previously existed. Source separation of solid waste has been established and is occurring at each composting site. Each municipality has identified end-product users for the finished compost and established public-private partnerships for its utilization. The long-term goal is to implement the composting program in all villages that do not currently have solid waste collection services, or that need to supplement their solid waste collection with a composting facility for organic waste.
Regarding the Cost-Benefit Methodologies and Instruction, the US resource group identified as a challenge the lack of knowledge of how to conduct economic impact assessments before making decisions for the implementation of certain waste management programs. The technical experts of Elhovo, Tundja and Bolyarovo applied the cost/benefit methodology in order to identify all of the various operating costs of a proposed new landfill in the Village of Dobrich. In regard to waste transfer and hauling options, the methodology was used to identify 4 realistic alternatives, and then systematically quantify and compare the costs of implementing each of them. Based on the analysis, the working group made decisions regarding future waste collection and landfill activities and results were presented to municipal leadership for final consideration.
The Bulgaria Best Practices Symposium was held in Varna, Bulgaria in June 2004. Partners presented their work to colleagues and guests and were the recipients of a ‘Best Project’ award for their work in composting. The three municipalities will continue implementation of their projects and act as mentor cities to interested municipalities in the next phase of the program.