Sofia Mobilizes Additional Teams and Equipment to Tackle Persistent Waste Problems

Sofia’s garbage crisis continues to challenge city authorities, with no full resolution in sight.

Four additional trucks have joined waste collection efforts in the “Krasno Selo” and “Lyulin” districts, bringing the total fleet operating in the two areas to 14 vehicles. Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bobcheva explained that the frequency of collection has already doubled in recent weeks thanks to the crisis organization. She added that extra personnel will soon be assigned to each truck, and that representatives from the municipal company Sofekostroy are joining operations to fully mobilize resources.

Despite these efforts, the crisis organization will remain in place until garbage collection reaches 100% on schedule. Bobcheva emphasized that emergency briefings continue because the two districts are not yet fully serviced. The shortage of drivers and workers has been the main obstacle to deploying all available trucks, although the arrival of new teams and Sofekostroy’s involvement is expected to improve the situation. Residents have been thanked for their patience and encouraged to use colored containers for recyclables, while volunteers continue to assist.

Currently, the capital’s municipality operates eight large collection teams: six SPTO (Capital Waste Processing Enterprise) trucks, including units from Gorata.bg, Panagyurishte, and Elin Pelin, and two Sofekostroy trucks with experienced crews. Smaller trucks, multilifts, and specialized vehicles are deployed to handle hard-to-reach areas and bulky waste. Metropolitan Inspector Nikolay Nedelkov noted that full service for both regions would require 24 collection runs daily with 12 fully staffed trucks.

Disinfection, disinsection, and deratization have been carried out around over 4,000 container points in both districts. However, 80% collection on certain days remains the standard due to human resource limitations, and bulky waste continues to be collected primarily by SPTO and volunteers.

The municipality has faced challenges in procuring additional services after previous tenders failed due to high costs from competing companies. As a long-term solution, Sofekostroy is expected to take permanent responsibility for waste collection in Krasno Selo and Lyulin, supported by a BGN 9 million loan from the Metropolitan Municipal Council for equipment acquisition. Citizens are encouraged to continue separating waste, and the number of collection points for recyclables has been doubled during the crisis.

With the weekend’s accumulated waste, crews will work both according to schedules and on urgent signals to ensure all backlog is cleared promptly, while ongoing coordination at the crisis headquarters will aim to fully utilize all available resources.