Implemented over three phases, Sofia’s 2015-2020 waste management programme is contributing to sustainable development in the Bulgarian capital by setting up an integrated system to reduce the environmental impact of waste, improve recycling, increase polluter accountability and stimulate investment in waste management.
- 14 May 2020
The current project concerns the programme’s third phase and entails construction of a plant for cogeneration of heat and electricity from refuse-derived fuel (RDF). The fuel is produced by a mechanical biological treatment facility set up under phase two.
Building on previous phases
Completed in 2014, the first phase of the programme comprised four elements: construction of a 2 825 000 m³ landfill for disposal of non-hazardous waste; construction of a biowaste and garden waste composting facility with capacities of 20 000 tonnes per year (t/yr) for biowaste and 24 000 t/yr for garden waste; purchase and installation of equipment for an existing waste sorting facility; and a pilot project for separate collection of packaging waste at source in two districts of Sofia.
The second phase, which ended in 2015, involved improvements to recycling and the establishment of the mechanical biological treatment facility. The facility has an input capacity of 410 000 t/yr and can produce about 39 000 t/yr of recycled material and 180 000 t/yr of RDF. Production levels vary from year to year.
Both the first and second phases were co-financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), receiving almost EUR 43 million and EUR 84 million respectively.
To be located at an existing heat and power installation, the cogeneration plant will be able to process 180 000 t/yr of RDF. Its energy recovery method and boiler design will ensure a high level of efficiency, allowing it to produce enough heat to meet the needs of 40 000 households and enough electricity for 30 000 households. The heat will be supplied to Sofia’s district heating network and the electricity will be fed into the national grid.
Construction of the plant is scheduled to start in January 2021 and be completed in November 2023. The facility will be operated by 44 people.
More recycling, less landfill
The project will expand Sofia’s waste management system by providing additional capacity for recycling domestic waste. By increasing recycling of waste for energy production and reducing landfill use, it is consistent with the waste hierarchy set out in the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, and with Bulgaria’s 2014-2020 National Waste Management Plan and circular economy principles. The hierarchy lists, in descending order, the best ways to protect the environment in waste management: reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, recover and dispose.
RDF is not currently used in Sofia but is transported up to 400 km away for use in cement production. Although EU rules allow this as a temporary measure, the Waste Framework Directive stipulates that waste must be disposed of as close as possible to its place of production.
Diverting RDF away from the cement industry and into cogeneration of heat and electricity will bring health and environmental benefits: partly by significantly reducing transport of RDF, partly due to the fact that use of RDF for cogeneration emits fewer pollutants than its use in cement production.
Further environmental benefits will come from increased electricity generation and a consequent decrease in the import and burning of natural gas, which will support the development of a competitive low-carbon economy.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Design and construction of a cogeneration unit in Sofia for the utilisation of refuse-derived fuel – the third phase of an integrated system of municipal waste treatment facilities in Sofia Municipality” is EUR 189 045 613, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 77 202 130 through the “Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Waste”.