The mayor of Plovdiv, Slavcho Atanassov, rejected on August 25 the suggestion made by the Cabinet to store 120 000 cu m of Sofia refuse in Plovdiv's refuse dump near the village of Tsalapitsa, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.

Environment Minister Djevdet Chakurov and Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds Meglena Plougchieva sent Plovdiv city hall a letter explaining that moving the baled refuse was part of the plan to move part of the refuse currently stored in Sofia, BTA said.

Bulgaria faces court action from the European Commission (EC) over Sofia's inadequate waste management infrastructure, with an infringement procedure opened in October 2007. At that time, the EC said that "the shortcomings, which include the lack of a system and installations for the recovery and disposal of household waste, are posing a serious risk to human health and the environment."

But Atanassov has rejected the proposal, saying the quantity suggested by the two ministers was too large and equaled the amount of refuse Plovdiv generated every year. The city, Bulgaria's second largest, has already helped out by agreeing to store 200 000 tons of Sofia refuse in 2007, Atanassov said. However, Plovdiv was yet to receive the 47 million leva it was promised in state subsidies for infrastructure projects in return for accepting Sofia's waste, BTA quoted him as saying.

His rejection was backed by other city politicians and even by Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev, who warned that Plovdiv would face a refuse crisis itself if it were to accept such a large amount of refuse, as quoted by BTA.

Plovdiv was not the only city hall to receive such a letter, Plougchieva told private broadcaster Darik Radio on August 25. Although she declined to name the other municipalities that have been contacted, Plougchieva said she was hoping to receive answers by September 1.

The EC has threatened to open a new infringement procedure against Bulgaria for storing refuse in two illegal dumps in Sofia, Dnevnik daily said.