Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca raises again the issue of separation of solid waste in the municipality. He has recently enquired about the possibilities of renewing the project on the separation of cardboard, glass and plaster from other waste materials. Alexandru Bajura, deputy head of the “Autosalubritate” (“Auto-Sanitation”) Division, said that such a project was put forward in 1999 and started to be implemented in Botanica district and on the main streets of the city. But the expected results were not achieved, also because the residents had been inappropriately informed. Bajura said that the municipality could return to this initiative, but the project would have to be resumed from zero. Meanwhile, the special bins for cardboard, glass and plastic have been partly damaged and can be used for household refuse only. [Construction of solid waste disposal plant is delayed] The separation of solid waste would be even more opportune if Chisinau had a solid waste disposal plant. Last November, the local authorities announced the signing of an investment contract of 190 mln EUR with the Italian company STR "Engineering Consulting", selected from 11 applicants. The investor committed itself to design and build the plant on an area of about 10 hectares during three years of the approval of the document by the Municipal Council. The contract was not approved to date and is one of the multiple initiatives waiting for better times in the drawers of the City Hall. STR "Engineering Consulting" offers to recycle the solid waste by converting it to compost, which envisages the separation of organic waste from the refuse that cannot be processed and production of biogas as a result of putrefaction. The other waste, of 50% as a rule, is buried. [“Autosalubritate” seeks higher tariff] The separation of solid waste requires important investments. But the stern budget of the municipality of Chisinau could barely cover such expenses. On the other hand, the lack of an efficient mechanism for processing and transporting the refuse yearly generates unsupported expenses which the residents of the capital will also feel soon. The “Autosalubritate” Division has already demanded that the tariff for waste disposal be increased from 2.8 lei to 5.4 lei, justifying its request by the rise in the price of diesel oil and by the trebling of the volume of refuse accumulated in the capital during the past 20 years. A number of 90 trash trucks transport about 3,600 tonnes of solid waste out of the municipality of Chisinau each day.