The most realistic option of solving Sofia's refuse problem was to send it to the processing factory in the village of Shishmantsi near Plovdiv, Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik quoed Environment Minister Djevdet Chakurov as saying.

On September 24, the Environment Ministry said in a media statement that Bulgaria did not face any sanctions concerning its commitments to the European Union on the issue of waste management, but added that the country needed 290 million leva to build landfills throughout the country.

Out of 55 planned landfills, 27 have been built and a further seven were under construction. Seven of the remaining 21 landfills are in advanced preparation stage and their construction could start this year, while a further eight were scheduled to begin construction at the start of 2009.

As previously reported by the Sofia Echo, 180 000 tons of the baled refuse from Sofia would be stored in the landfill of Silistra. The rest may travel to Shishmantsi refuse processing plant, as the future factory already has an environmental impact assessment, while the procedure on issuing a complex permit was nearly completed, Chakurov said.

The Cabinet continued its search for other municipal landfills throughout the country that could accept part of Sofia's 600 000 tons of baled refuse that were stored in temporary landfills with expired permits. According to Chakurov, there were several sites that were ready to take on some of Sofia's waste.