As a new EU Member State, Bulgaria is facing the challenges of the practical implementation of EU legislation in the waste sector. Economic development and increase in GDP are directly connected to waste generation:

Figure 1. Municipal waste collection 2000-07.

Figure 2. GDP and Waste generation 2004-07.

Thus increasing the impact on the environment NSI: http://www.nsi.bg/ORPDOCS/Ecology_2.1.xls). The landfilling of municipal solid waste can be considered as a loss of possible resources such as materials and energy, which could be used as an index for sustainable consumption and effectiveness of a certain level. There are a few examples in Europe of the decoupling of GDP and increasing amount of municipal waste (Belgium and the Netherlands); these good practices could be implemented in other countries as well. Figure 1 presents the increase in municipal waste collecting systems.

There is a distinct increasing trend in the amount of recovered waste oils during the last three years:

Figure 3. Waste oils 2006–08.

Concerning batteries, there is a slight decrease in the collecting rate.

Figure 4. Battery collection 2006-08.

Concerning the batteries for the year 2008 which could be explained by the decrease in end-of-life vehicle (ELV) collection rates. The recovered batteries and accumulators rate continues to decrease and, in 2008, it was 8 282.97 tonnes.

Figure 5. Battery collection 2006–07.

With regard to the recovery rates of waste from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), the situation is similar to other waste streams.

Figure 6. Recovery and recycling WEEE 2006–07.

The data presented in Figure 6 are for six months in 2006.

All of the above mentioned data are public and can be consulted (in Bulgarian only) on the website of the Executive Environment Agency (http://eea.government.bg/bul/NSMOS/Wastes/spravki.html).

The collection rates of different widespread waste (WSW) streams are related to the marketing of certain products (packaging, motor vehicles, batteries, oils and electronic and electric products). Another driving force for the increasing amounts of WSW is the market price of scrap materials (metals, ferrous materials, etc.).

Figure 7. Number of collected ELVs and scrap metal price.

NOTE: Prize should be corrected to price below.

The main driving forces can be identified as demographic, economic and migration processes. Bulgaria has shown negative population growth since the 1990s (http://www.nsi.bg/Population_e/Population_e.htm) which is a prerequisite for the ageing population in the country. On the other hand, an increase in GDP usually corresponds to the growth in municipal waste generation. The intra-country migration process (from small villages and towns to the big cities) has a noticeable effect on the generation of municipal waste. The big cities are served by separate collection systems which decrease the amount of collected municipal waste.

The other pressure factor at national level is tourism but during recent years this factor has not had such a strong influence because of the significant decrease in the flow of tourists (a result of the world financial crisis) (http://www.nsi.bg/SocialActivities_e/Tourism_e.htm).

The inventory of GHG emissions in 2005 shows that the total GHG emissions in Bulgaria are – 69 994.88 Gg CO₂-eq., while the net emissions (considering the absorption from LUCF) are 62 607.6 Gg (http://eea.government.bg/bul/Output/UNFCCC/index.html).

The top producers of GHG in Bulgaria are in the energy sector (74.5 %), followed by the waste management (9.30 %) and industrial processes (8.82 %) sectors. Landfilling accounts for the main share of emissions generated by the waste management sector and, in 2005, the emissions from municipal waste were top of the list for sources of СН₄ and were in fifth place for all sources of GHG emissions across the country (National inventory report of GHG for Bulgaria, 2007).

The main priorities can be found on the Ministry of the Environment and Water’s website (http://www.moew.government.bg/index_e.html). A fundamentally new approach is needed to replace the conservation of the environmental status quo with environmental enhancement; short and long-term plans are needed to that effect.

Concerning landfill, biodegradable waste creates serious environmental problems; once landfilled, the biodegradable fraction decomposes and forms compounds, such as methane (a flammable greenhouse gas), which are harmful to the environment. The Ministry of the Environment and Water has prepared a draft strategy to reduce the amount of municipal biodegradable waste going to landfill (http://www.moew.government.bg/index_e.html). The implementation of the strategy requires action from everyone. In the section ‘Measures for the reduction of paper and cardboard packaging’ of the strategy, the share of separately collected paper and cardboard packaging is expected to increase as follows:

In 2009, the main priority was the coordination and organisation of the activities related to the draft National Environment Strategy 2009–18 and the related strategic action plan with the Directorates and Regional Offices of the Ministry of the Environment and Water, the competent State institutions, municipalities, academia, business, NGOs and others.

Another priority is the preparation of a strategy outlining the general framework for the management of waste from the construction and demolition of buildings. During the year, the implementation of priority measures set out in the national programme for waste management activities, including the complete establishment of a system of 55 regional facilities for the treatment of household waste continued. It was agreed to develop a mechanism to control the payment of product fees from people who marketed products after the use of which is accounted for widespread waste.

Information sheets identifying landfills and the sites accepting waste oils, discarded electrical and electronic equipment, etc., for treatment were prepared (http://www.moew.government.bg).