Almost three weeks have passed since the start of the spring cleanup campaign in Chisinau. Being distributed to five sectors, the workers, with the help of special equipment, daily cleanup the green spaces and courtyards of apartment buildings. However, the municipal authorities point out that the economic agents do not show responsibility and do not designate personnel to clean the areas adjoining the buildings they manage. Representatives of the General Housing and Amenities Division and municipal enterprises told IPN how the cleanup activities are carried out in the capital city and what challenges they face.
On duty every day
Every day, since early morning, 400 workers are on involved in the cleaning of children's playgrounds, platforms and rooms for the collection of household waste, roads and sidewalks, green spaces, as well as sports fields. The activities are coordinated by municipal housing management enterprises, condominium co-owners' associations or other administrators.
Vasile Efros, head of the Housing and Amenities Division’s Planning and Environment Unit, said that in Botanica and Râșcani districts, where there are more courtyards and green areas, the workload increases. The workers every day use almost 100 pieces of equipment, such as dump trucks, tractors with trailers, loaders, special trucks for the mechanized cleaning of sidewalks.
Cleaning of green areas
Dumitru Gorelco, deputy head of the state-owned enterprise "Green Spaces Association", said that cleanup works are primarily carried out around waterbodies, the bed of the Byk River, the riparian strip of the Tziganca River, “Valea Morilor” Park, Ciocarlia Square, “Butoiaș” Forest-Park, the Village Museum. The central arteries of the capital city are cleaned daily. Similar works are executed in the peripheral area of the city, close to the Chisinau Mine, where people throw garbage uncontrollably.
The employees of the Green Spaces Association are also involved in deforestation and planting works. The linden tree, which is most often planted in Chisinau, "the symbol of the municipality from a vegetative point of view", as well as other species are less resistant to climatic factors in the capital city. Drought favors pests and the destruction of trees, which is why trees are treated with various preparations, including against pests. Dumitru Gorelco said that in the future, the enterprise will focus on planting species that are much more climate-resilient, such as acacia and ash.
Mass planting works are usually carried out in autumn, and ornamental species, such as Sakura and Japanese apple, are planted in spring. In recent years, about 3,000 new trees have been planted.
Meanwhile, in the public gardens of the capital city, there are species that are over 200 years old and are considered of national importance. Their condition is gradually worsening, said the deputy head of the Green Spaces Association. Dumitru Gorelco noted that these trees have very deep roots that absorb water from the soil and release it through foliage, thus contributing to the reduction of dry air.
Collection of waste
Alexandru Bajura, operations vice director of the cleanup enterprise "Autosalubritate", said that the volume of waste in spring increased to 10%. Until now, the municipal enterprise transported 6,300 cubic meters of waste daily, but today the quantity exceeds 6,800 cubic meters. Every day, 45 drivers continuously transport waste from the city. Also, 78 employees and seven high-capacity vehicles collect waste at the transshipment stations and take it to the municipal garbage dump in Țânțăreni.
The population is urged to properly sort waste at collection platforms, where plastic bins of various colors and galvanized containers are placed. Plastic and metal are thrown in the yellow bin, paper and cardboard - in the blue container, glass - in the green one, and biodegradable or mixed waste - in galvanized containers.
Every spring, the workers of "Autosalubritate" wash all the containers vandalized during the year by so-called "painters", who color them with paint.
Alexandru Bajura noted that waste disposal becomes difficult when access to the waste platform is blocked by parked cars. The enterprise’s workers come to one and the same site for several times a day so that they can take away the garbage.
Sometimes, in the projects to erect new apartment buildings, the need for an appropriate waste collection space is not taken into account, which creates difficulties for both the dwellers and the employees of the enterprise. In such situations, the person who lives in such a building must take the garbage to the nearest platform. Due to lack of space, the employees of "Autosalubritate" are forced to travel twice a day to the platform in order to prevent its overfilling.
There are people who bring electrical and electronic equipment to the waste platforms although, according to the law, this type of waste is the sole responsibility of the producers, and the collection process should be ensured by collective systems of producers. If this waste was already brought to the platform, the General Housing and Amenities Division either contacts those responsible for the collective systems, or, with the transport provided by the City Hall, takes it directly to their landfill.
In the case of construction waste, the people are urged to turn to companies that provide transport and waste collection services of this type.
"For bulky things, such as parts of cabinets, beds and other furniture, we do not have solutions for recycling at the current stage, but we temporarily store them on a plot of land on Uzinelor St to avoid impacting the environment," said the head of the Planning and Environment Unit Vasile Efros.
The spring cleanup campaign will run until April 18. The process is monitored by the General Housing and Amenities Division. The employees of the Division’s Cleanup and Waste Management Unit travel to the scene and notify the individuals and legal entities that do not ensure cleanliness on the territory of Chisinau municipality.
Milena Macarciuc, IPN
