Councillors have failed to launch a new waste sorting tender in Mykolaiv

Solid waste landfill near Mykolaiv. Archive photo NikVesti

Members of Mykolaiv City Council were unable to approve the updated operating procedures for the household waste sorting facility — there were not enough votes to pass the decision.

The issue was considered at a session on 26 March, NikVesti reports.

Ihor Nabatov, First Deputy Director of the Housing and Utilities Department, presented changes to the tender conditions. In particular, the number of evaluation criteria has been increased from 7 to 9: requirements regarding the availability of technical staff and the financial capacity of participants have been added.

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The pool of potential tender participants has also been expanded — now not only companies with their own land plots can apply, but also those with prior agreements to lease or sublease the relevant territory.

The evaluation system has also been changed: the minimum passing score has been set at 55. Furthermore, the terms of the contract with the competition winner have been revised — it may be concluded for a maximum of 15 years, with the possibility of extension for a further 10 years subject to agreement with MPs, provided there are no objections to the operator’s performance.

According to Ihor Nabatov, the updated terms have been agreed with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

During the discussion, councillor Dmytro Sichko drew attention to the amount of contributions to the city budget, which had been relatively low in the previous tender. In response, Ihor Nabatov noted that the percentage had not changed and stands at up to 10%, calling it a ‘significant bonus’ for the city, which is not funding the project.

«I will explain to all participants in the process that, in fact, even the 10% provided for is already a huge bonus. This is because we are giving our participants literally nothing, apart from the waste that they can recycle. They find the land plot themselves; they build the relevant complex themselves. In other words, this is not a standard public-private partnership model. It is a slightly different model, in which we provide only material for recycling — nothing else,» explained Ihor Nabatov.

Councillors also raised questions regarding a possible increase in waste collection fees following the launch of the sorting line. The Housing and Utilities Department noted that this would depend on the results of the tender and the participants’ proposals, though they did not rule out such a scenario.

«There may be a need (for a tariff increase, — note), which could arise if the relevant calculations demonstrate that costs are higher than they are today,» the Housing and Utilities Department noted.

Councillor Fedir Panchenko proposed not to support this decision. According to him, this would lead to a significant increase in tariffs for the public and businesses, and the municipal enterprise Mykolaivkomtrans would require additional funding.

In response, Ihor Nabatov pointed out that the city is obliged to bring its waste management system into line with legislation by 2030, specifically by modernising landfills and building new infrastructure. He also noted that the current landfill already requires reclamation, and its operation has been temporarily extended until 2031.

«In other words, in any case, we need to decide now what we are actually going to do next with municipal waste. And I would like to remind you that we still have a court ruling, the implementation of which is being monitored by the public prosecutor’s office. We constantly receive enquiries regarding the progress of each stage — the reclamation project, the contract for the construction of a new landfill site, and the third is the construction of a sorting station. Therefore, these are factors that must also be taken into account,» noted Ihor Nabatov.

Following this, the mayor put the matter to a vote, but the decision was not passed: 24 councillors voted «for», two «against», and six abstained.

It should be noted that the tender procedure was finalised taking into account the working group’s recommendations. It was supported by members of the executive committee at a meeting on 25 March.

Earlier, Ihor Nabatov told NikVesti that the terms of the contract had changed slightly. It will now last for no more than 15 years, but with the option to extend it for a further 10 years upon expiry.

The situation regarding the construction of a waste sorting line in Mykolaiv

The issue of waste sorting in Mykolaiv was raised as far back as 2019, when the cost of two lines was estimated at approximately 10 million hryvnias. At the time, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych insisted that the costs should be borne by investors, not the city budget. Although a waste management programme was adopted, it never came to fruition.

The Supreme Court ruled that the city council’s inaction was unlawful and ordered the construction of a sorting line, as the landfill, which has been in operation since 1972, had reached the end of its useful life.

In 2024, councillors approved the operating procedures for the solid waste sorting complex and announced an investment tender. The first tender did not take place, whilst the second was won by Waste To Energy Niko LLC. However, the company received only the minimum required score, and councillors and the head of the regional state administration, Vitalii Kim, criticised the lack of transparency in the procedure and the unfavourable terms.

Law enforcement opened an investigation and carried out searches at the city council. At the session on 28 August, councillors did not support the approval of the contract with the winner. The city authorities are preparing new tender conditions. Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that the process would be public, involving international partners, notably from Denmark.

Read also the article by NikVesti: «How Mykolaiv plans to start sorting waste».