Vilnius residents are left with garbage and higher bills.
Not in a figurative sense.
The waste management system, developed for over a decade and financed by the European Union, has been destroyed: primary sorting at home, waste collection and delivery to the mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plant, secondary sorting, conversion of the combustible fraction into fuel and its incineration at the nearby Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant (VKJ), generating electricity and reducing heating costs for Vilnius residents. Only what remained after sorting and incineration was supposed to go to the regional Kazokiškės landfill.
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In addition to these problems, during this period, the city of Vilnius was “decorated” with construction waste landfills in Salininkai and Liepkalnis, whose owners went bankrupt, and there was no one left to clean them up. The mayor and the Ministry of Environment respond to my letters that this is not their responsibility.
And worst of all, Vilnius residents will again pay for the waste management chaos left by this “circus.”
The Vilnius Mechanical-Biological Waste Treatment Plant (MBT) was built with European Union funds and began operating in mid-2016. Approximately 100 million euros were allocated for its construction.
Next to it, the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant (VKJ) was supposed to be built, which would generate heat and electricity from the waste remaining after sorting. The project was estimated to cost about 240 million euros.
The entire system was designed as a single chain. Not for someone to maximize profit. But for Vilnius residents and regional inhabitants to pay less for waste management. For them to pay less for heating. This was a public interest project.
Unfortunately, this is where everything started to fall apart. The construction of VKJ became more expensive, reaching approximately 350 million euros.
The waste incineration line started operating more than three years later than planned.
During that time, thousands of tons of household waste were transported to the Kazokiškės landfill, which is not endless.
The mayor and residents of Elektrėnai municipality are rightly indignant that mountains of garbage are growing at the landfill, and all problems are increasing along with it. It was promised otherwise – only minimal amounts of waste were supposed to reach the regional landfill after sorting and incineration.
Now Elektrėnai threatens to stop the operation of the landfill. And where will Vilnius residents put their garbage then? Which regional municipality will agree to accept a new landfill?
And no one today answers a very simple question – how much did the delay of “Ignitis” and VKJ cost Vilnius residents?
The mayor was urged and should have demanded that “Ignitis” and VKJ compensate for the losses incurred by the entire region – due to the faster filling of the Kazokiškės landfill, not to mention higher heating prices while the power plant was not operating. Today, VKJ must finance the construction of a new and more modern sorting plant. The mayor, not a “clown,” should demand this.
Then another mistake followed.
When “Ignitis,” seeking profit, decided to sell 49 percent of the shares of the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant to a Swiss fund, I proposed a very clear solution – this block of shares should have been taken over by the city of Vilnius.
Why? Because the MBT plant and VKJ are not two separate businesses. They are one technological system.
If one link belongs to one party and the other to another, it is natural that everyone starts defending their own interest.
And who defends the interests of Vilnius residents? No one. 49 percent of VKJ shares were sold to a private investor. The city of Vilnius was left with one symbolic share. One. Not control. Not influence. Not the ability to make decisions. One share.
And now we are surprised that the system is starting to operate according to the logic of profit, even though both projects were actually financed by European Union support and residents’ funds.
“Ignitis” and its shareholders take the profit from the sale of shares, even though the new investor creates nothing new; he will only wait for the return on his investments with guaranteed profitability.
Profitability will be guaranteed by the bills paid by Vilnius residents, so it is abnormal that the city authorities refused the opportunity to defend the public interest.
Today, the entire waste management system is cracking.
After the MBT fire a year ago, the mayor publicly stated – the crisis is under control. Temporary equipment was brought in, waste continued to be sorted, the same “Energesman” won the VAATC tender for a new sorting line in spring, contracts were signed, and it seemed that the situation was indeed under control.
Perhaps the mayor was right at the time. But today, the reality is different. After a year of emergency, the mayor says everything is bad. Conflicts have started between the new VAATC management and the operator. This is an attempt to divert attention from the threats of regional mayors to close the Kazokiškės landfill.
Instead of solutions – lawsuits. Instead of a new sorting line – disputes.
Due to these disputes, the entire system could become more expensive, and the additional burden on residents, according to the operator’s assessment, could reach 14–15 million euros per year.
Today, Vilnius MBT processes mixed municipal waste for approximately 53 euros per ton. For comparison, according to data provided by the operator, this service costs about 106 euros per ton at Kaunas MBT, about 104 euros per ton in Klaipėda, and new supplier offers mentioned in the market reach about 120 euros per ton.
The mayor and VAATC boast that other private companies will take over sorting from the current operator. Good. But tell Vilnius residents – at what price?
And who will pay for it? And all this is happening at a time when Vilnius residents are paying more and more for waste management. Since 2018, the local fee for municipal waste management in Vilnius has increased by approximately 80 percent.
The mayor’s heated rhetoric and political statements are already preparing Vilnius residents for a new increase in waste management costs today.
All that will be left is to blame everyone around and say: “Unfortunately, we have to increase your waste management bills.”
When the public interest is left without an owner, its place is taken by the interests of those who have more power.
Vilnius today does not have a garbage crisis. Vilnius today has a management crisis.
Neither the MBT plant nor VKJ is responsible for management. The Kazokiškės landfill is not responsible either. The city authorities are always responsible for management.
Vilnius was declared the European Green Capital a year ago.
There were many events and many beautiful brochures, which took place under emergency conditions when the waste management system was being destroyed.
This is the legacy of this term. The circus is leaving. Wait for the bills for the “circus.”
