Representatives of the largest supermarket chains in Bulgaria have agreed to start offering paper bags instead of plastic and to improve their waste management on a proposal of Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov. In return, they have requested that the municipal councillors introduce a lower refuse tax for supermarkets.

Representatives of Mall of Sofia, City Center Sofia, Piccadilly supermarkets, Hit hypermarkets, Kaufland Bulgaria, Billa Bulgaria, Metro Cash & Carry, Danone Serdika and Purshevitsa Milk Products attended a meeting in Sofia city hall on April 24.

As soon as plastic bags are abolished and we move on to paper bags, the better it will be for the city’s environment and everyone else, Borissov said at the business-media meeting.

Sofia city plans to invest more than 130 million euro in construction of facilities for separating, treating and composting refuse, and only if the waste cannot be further used, in facilities for dumping it, Sofia deputy mayor in charge of the green system, environment and land usage Maria Boyadjiiska said.

“As you are people of business, you all know that only a monetary expression of support shows whether it is sincere,” Borissov said, addressing the business representatives. The European Union has guaranteed to give 130 million euro to the city for refuse installation facilities.

He said the city had a Strategy for Household Refuse but also wanted to introduce “what are otherwise called soft measures concerning plastic bags, yoghurt cartons and other packagings”.

The city invited the business representatives to the meeting to hear their proposals and to develop a common strategy, with the aim of starting collaboration in this direction. Priorities are to decrease the amount of produced refuse, and to encourage recycling and separate waste collection, with additional measures being implemented where fitting.

Boyadjiiska said that this meeting was also part of the municipal campaign “Clean with Me” and aimed at including institutions and businesses in the process of household refuse management and the cleanliness of Sofia. According to Boyadjiiska, the refuse problems of Sofia were specific enough; the city simply needed to implement exact and serious measures to solve them.

“Sofia city has developed two documents framing the activities, policy, aims and priorities – the Programme for Household Refuse Management and the Special Strategy for Household Refuse Management, both of which foresee construction of plants by the end of 2011,” Boyadjiiska said.

The business proposals would be included in a future frame programme that the city would develop, Boyadjiiska further said.

Borissov named the replacement of the plastic bags now in circulation with bio-degradable bags, the introduction of additional measures for decreasing the use of plastic packaging and increasing the use of recyclable packaging as examples of measures that could be implemented to reduce refuse production.

According to Metro representatives, a cut in the household refuse tax was needed. This would be easy, as it only required a decision from Sofia municipal council. Borissov has always promised to expedite any steps that would benefit the city.

A City Center Sofia representative agreed that the amount paid in refuse tax by huge shops was enormous. She said that they would negotiate “in all directions and for all types of social policy” to start better refuse management.

Purshevitsa’s chairperson said that the city initiative was a very good beginning, but that a group should be formed comprising representatives of the packaging waste recovery organisations. This was needed so as to enable the formation of a complete concept for refuse management in co-operation with the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs.

“We liaise exceptionally well with Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs and I’m convinced that we will have their support,” Borissov said. According to him, incentives and compensation for businesses were also necessary, because it was a complicated process requiring production readjustments.

Kaufland representatives claimed that large supermarket chains were some of the most disciplined in collecting refuse. Borissov, however, said that a visit to one of the refuse separating installations would reveal the truth about their supposed efficiency.

Mall of Sofia general director Aaron Kedem said that the campaign should include not only the plastic bags used in supermarkets, but also plastic (water) bottles used in cafes, restaurants and other venues. “I think the main point is to spread awareness. We want to create a situation where everybody speaks about it,” Kedem said. He advised Borissov to start a promotional campaign on the reasonable use of plastic packaging.

“Our building is a perfect place for such an initiative, as it generates about one million visitors every month,” Kedem also said. He told The Sofia Echo that Mall of Sofia was not yet working with any packaging waste recovery organisation because they had not been invited to do so. Kedem said that if any of those companies proposed a reasonable project for placing separate refuse-collection bins inside the mall, they would consider it.

A City Center Sofia representative told The Sofia Echo that although their mall did not have special bins for separate refuse collection for clients, after the mall employees collected the normal waste bins, they would typically separate everything inside and recycle where applicable.

At the end of the meeting, Boyadjiiska said that she hoped for businesses to respond with official proposals to the city and to initiate other meetings.

“It is a bipartite process and one cannot expect only the city or only business to take some steps; joint activities from both sides are needed,” Kalin Karadjov from Piccadilly told The Sofia Echo after the meeting.

“No doubt that we expect the municipality to support us, as well as all state institutions; however, we have the will to work together with them for things to happen in the best way and as soon as possible,” he said.

Questioned as to why the company did not independently introduce requisite paying for plastic bags, for instance, Karadjov said that in general he tended to agree but this was only one way, and, according to him, it was not the best one.

“I think that a plan should be introduced where more environmentally acceptable ways and means are used. Biodegradable bags help the environment. Yet even by decreasing the number of plastic bags, the problem remains as we keep on using them,” he said.

Karadjov further said that, currently, Piccadilly is in a process of negotiations with different companies and suppliers of biodegradable bags from Bulgaria and abroad.