Chisinau switches to European waste collection system

The municipal waste management company “Regia Autosalubritate” has purchased 1,500 new garbage bins of European model and will set them up as part of the European week in Chisinau. The bins will replace the old, Soviet-type ones without lid. There were also purchased two new garbage trucks, Info-Prim Neo reports. The company's director Tudor Maniv said Wednesday that they took out a loan from a bank and bought the containers and trucks from German factories. A garbage truck costs €242,000. 1 000 of the 1 500 new bins are made of metal and cost €270 each. The other 500 are from plastic and were bought for € 170 apiece. Tudor Maniv said the containers have a working life of 10 years. The old ones cost €100 apiece and are used during only one year and a half. There are about 11,000 old containers and 800 European-type bins in Chisinau at present. The drivers of the new trucks said they want the whole city to be outfitted with new garbage bins as they can be easier unloaded and no waste remains inside. Asked why they did not purchase more plastic containers as they are cheaper, Tudor Maniv said these bins can be set on fire and will be thus placed mainly on the territories of companies, where they are guarded. “We need 3-4 garbage trucks more, besides the eight we have, and another 2 000 bins,” Tudor Maniv said. Old containers will continue to be used in apartment buildings as the new ones are larger and do not fit the garbage rooms. Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said the garbage rooms with bins that are unloaded manually will be gradually closed. “Unfortunately, there are buildings were the containers of new type cannot be used, but we will find solutions,” he said. Dorin Chirtoaca also said that the European investor is expected to start building the waste disposal plant next month. A switch to selective garbage collection is thus planned.