Problems
The landfill in Lviv pollutes the environment
The garbage from Lviv and some localities of the region has been stockpiled for 25 years at the Gribovitsky landfill. This landfill is the third largest in Europe and one of the largest polluters of the environment in the Lviv region. Lviv has more than 700,000 inhabitants, so the city produces thousands of tons of garbage each month. Until 2016 all waste from the city was taken to the Grybovytska landfill. Various scandals constantly arose with the landfill, because environmental activists and all those who cared about it repeatedly pointed out that the landfill was an ecological problem of the region and a time bomb.
Disaster at the Gribovitsky landfill
Grybovytska landfill is the only legal place for waste from Lviv and neighboring villages since Soviet times. It occupies 33 hectares and has been operating since 1958. During this time, according to the Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine, the "height" of rubble on it reached 60 meters. The city authorities did not adhere to all rules and sanitary norms prescribed by Ukrainian legislation. During the last years of the dump's functioning, the communal enterprise, which served the Gribovitsky landfill, did not let the environmental inspection for scheduled and unscheduled inspections. The head of the Committee for Economic Salvation of Ukraine Marko Shpikula confirms the minister's words about the violation in the operation of the Hrybovytska landfill. "From the very beginning, the garbage has been buried improperly," he says. According to him, in Soviet times, the landfill was taken everything they wanted. The Lviv Oil and Lubricant Plant is used to make transformer oil. Sulfuric acid was added to it to draw out the water. The waste - sour tar - had to be processed, but there was no technology. Therefore they dug up lakes on six hectares near the dump, where they poured out the tar. In the neighboring lakes, there were found packages of pills - medicines were utilized. There were also flooded cars. Improper waste management and lack of control led to a disaster. After a fire at the landfill in 2016 killed several people, Lviv authorities banned the use of the landfill and closed it because of safety measures. After this decision, the townspeople were in real trouble, because the city was left without a place to dispose of waste. Lviv was gripped by a garbage collapse - overflowing trash cans, and mountains of garbage near the trash cans. In the summertime, because of the heat, there was a terrible stench, and clouds of flies, and rats.
The garbage from Lviv travels through Ukraine
Political experts noted that the garbage blockade was a confrontation between the political forces - "Smopomosch" and "European Solidarity". The problem was partially solved - Lviv's garbage began to be accepted at landfills in other cities, according to the agreements concluded between the Lviv city hall and the authorities of the localities, which agreed to accept the waste. However, even in this case, there was a scandal: Lviv garbage began to literally "travel" all over Ukraine. Waste from the city of Lev was found in Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi, and many other cities and towns. The closure of the local landfill led to the sanctioned and unauthorized removal of garbage from Lviv to Lviv and other regions of Ukraine, including places not equipped for garbage collection. Due to this practice's criminal and unauthorized nature, most cities refused to accept it, and their residents began blocking Lviv garbage trucks on the roads. As a result of such actions, the garbage problem in Lviv not only remained unresolved but also spread to other cities of Ukraine, because the load on the ecology of other regions increased because of the arriving garbage.
Gallery
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Timelines
2022
May 31
Technical reclamation is underway at the Gribovichi landfill. The consortium of companies J/V GOKSIN INSAAT - HAYAT GROUP began active work on the landfill in Gribovichi back in August 2021. The contractor began to reinforce the dome of the landfill to prevent the movement or collapse of masses of waste in the future, installing systems to collect biogas and leachate. The Gribovitsk landfill was scheduled to be completed with layers of membranes in the summer of 2022. As of May 31, the mayor's office says that the work at this stage is 75% complete.
2021
June 05
Director of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Ruslan Grechanyk, on the occasion of World Environment Day, called on the residents of the Lviv region to abandon the use of polyethylene bags and single-use plastic containers, replacing them with eco-bags and glass or wooden dishes. According to the department, 3.1 million tons of waste were generated in the Lviv region alone last year. However, most of them (94%) are waste from enterprises, and 6% from households. That is, it turns out that the population threw out 186 thousand tons of garbage per year. Of the entire huge amount of waste, only 12% was disposed of. Lviv Oblast ranked 19th among the regions of Ukraine in terms of emissions into the atmosphere.
April 02
An improvised garbage dump was discovered near Lviv airport. Employees of the State Environmental Inspection in the Lviv region, as part of the consideration of citizens' appeals regarding the unauthorized placement of construction and household waste, conducted state control measures on the territory of the Railway District Administration of the city of Lviv. The area of the landfill is approximately 375 square meters. m. Bottles, oiled rags, car tires, car parts, boards, and plastic were found in this area. The inspection sent letters to the address of the Railway District Administration of the city of Lviv to take measures and respond appropriately to the powers established by the legislation of Ukraine.
February 27
The Department of Education of the LMR is launching a new environmental contest for schoolchildren and invites children to fantasize about the image of the city's eco-superhero. The best works will become prototypes of the ecotype of Lviv, which will be used to popularize the rational use of nature and solve the problem of waste management. Children should create their own eco-superhero in any technique (3D figure, drawing, soft toy, quilling, etc.). If desired, you can work with the upcycling method (creative transformation of waste into art objects, which involves the reuse of used items).
February 12
The city authorities have announced a tender for the construction of a waste recycling plant in Lviv. City mayor Andriy Sadovyy called the deadline for the start of work - November 2020. And the construction itself should last less than two years. But it has turned out not so, as it was spoken during a pre-election campaign. As of February 2021, construction has not yet begun. Andrei Sadovyi says that the city is waiting for permission from the EBRD to sign the contract. EBRD procedures are lengthy and governed by internal documents. In addition, many EBRD employees work remotely, so some procedures take longer than usual. At the same time, neither Lviv City Council nor LCP "Green City" as a customer has any influence on international financial institutions.
2020
October 01
During September, 152 tons of organic waste was delivered to the Lviv utility company "Green City". LKP "Green City" reports that 131 containers for collecting organic matter have been installed in the city. Three carriers - "GrinEra", "Ekoway" and "Lvivspetskomuntrans" - bring organic waste to the composting site of LKP "Green City". They deliver food waste collected from residents and businesses in a separate vehicle as it accumulates.
September 18
Lviv joins the Zero Waste program. Deputy Mayor Andriy Moskalenko noted that he had meetings and discussions in Lviv with representatives of the "Zero waste" organization. Iryna Myronova, head of the "Zero Waste Lviv" NGO, said that this will save money for the community and the city's residents on waste management: "In fact, the program is aimed at revising resource management and reducing waste."
2019
March 10
A landfill caught fire in Novoyavorivsk, Lviv region. The fire was reported to the rescuers on the morning of March 10, according to the website of the State Emergency Service. Firefighters established that burning garbage covers an area of approximately 0.8 ha. 22 firefighters and 3 units of special equipment were involved in the liquidation.
2018
December 28
Clear Energy LLC plans to start degassing the Hrybovytsky landfill at the end of May 2019. Until then, preparatory construction work will be carried out on the territory of the landfill. "There will be a lot of large-scale works at the landfill in Hrybovichi, which, together with other planned measures, will help make this facility safe for the environment. In particular, the utilization of biogas will reduce the risks of garbage igniting and fires, as happened before. By extracting gas, we will also reduce the height of the landfill - it will settle under its weight. This is a long and safe process that requires additional preparation, both documentary, and engineering," said Andrii Menzyuk, Deputy Director for Commercial Affairs of Clear Energy LLC.
July 27
In Lviv, on the territory of "Snopkivsky" park, unknown persons organized an illegal garbage dump, which caused 110,7 million hryvnias' worth of environmental damage. The landfill was created on an area of 240 square meters. The prosecutor's office opened a criminal case under part 1 of article 239 (pollution and spoilage of land). Such behavior of Lviv residents is a response to the inaction of the authorities regarding the removal of garbage from the city.
2017
July 13
According to the city authorities, 82% of previously accumulated garbage has been removed from Lviv. From June, 23rd till July, 13th special equipment has taken out from 677 overfilled garbage grounds of Lviv 12 thousand 655 tons of tough household waste.
April 21
Between the regional state administration, the regional counci,l and the city council a Memorandum of Cooperation on the reception of solid waste from the city to the regional landfills was signed by the leaders of 16 cities of the Lviv region. However, the memorandum failed, because only three cities agreed to accept waste, and even then - in limited quantities: Chervonohrad, Novoyavorivsk, and Buska.
2016
November 07
The court ordered the executive committee of the Lviv city council to stop the operation of the landfill in connection with numerous violations of the requirements of sanitary and environmental legislation in terms of waste management during its operation.
May 28
On Saturday, May 28, a fire broke out at the Hrybovytskyi landfill, which was extinguished two days later. The first to arrive at the scene of the fire was the "extraordinary" - employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Lviv region. Three of them, as well as an ecologist from LKP "Zbiranka" ended up under piles of burning garbage.