TPP “Bobov Dol” and “Greenpeace” in a collision over tons of burned waste

The human rights organization Greenpeace and the Bobov Dol TPP clashed over the extent to which tons of non-hazardous waste were legally prepared on an experimental basis.

TPP Bobov Dol received a scandalous permit from the state to experimentally burn waste, which in quantity exceeds 10,000 times the maximum threshold of 50 tons per year, Greenpeace – Bulgaria announced on Tuesday. Later, the organization, together with its partners from “Por la Tierra”, published a correspondence between the Ministry of Ecology and the TPP, revealed after a two-year legal battle.

According to Greenpeace, it appears from the correspondence that in his 2018 letter, former Deputy Environment Minister Krassimir Zhivkov, arrested earlier this year, allowed the plant, related to businessman Hristo Kovachki, to use alternative fuel for burning. waste for experimental purposes in a volume of 500,000 tons, which is 10,000 times the norm. Human rights activists claim that the letter contradicts not only Bulgarian but also European law.

Krassimir Zhivkov was charged in the hazardous waste import case, in which businessmen Atanas and Plamen Bobokovi are also accused.

However, on Wednesday, the power station released a position refuting the claims of environmentalists.

Bobov Dol TPP: An absolute lie is spreading

“An outright lie is the claim that the amounts of recycled non-hazardous waste have been exceeded, because the permit to test for the use of RDF in combustion plants only establishes the upper limits of the amount that should not be exceeded in each experiment. . It will? whether or not it succeeds is a matter of testing the technology during the experiment. Therefore, that permit is issued for a period of only six months and is valid only for that time, not forever. Only the permanent permits show the exact amounts, “they said of the TPP” Bobov dol. “

The office of the headquarters also indicates that the human rights organization “makes a free interpretation of what is written in the regulations, rejects meetings, does not contact us directly to request the documents it needs, but does so through the media. communication”. it doesn’t do anything socially useful, it just makes a ridiculous circus in front of society ”. The TPP claims that the published documents show that the plant has always operated legally and swears that there has never been an “unregulated” burning of fuel from non-hazardous waste at the Bobov Dol TPP.

Headquarters claims that they have tried several times to invite Greenpeace – Bulgaria to visit their office to provide them with the documents they want, but have been denied.

Greenpeace: waste incineration poses a huge health risk

According to Greenpeace, widespread correspondence also shows that MoEW has refused to carry out experimental combustion at the plant for almost two years; the first request is from the end of 2016 and the first MoEW denial is from 2017. However, TPP “. Bobov Dol” continues to insist and with the appointment of Neno Dimov as Minister of the Environment the plant’s efforts are crowned by success: at the end of 2018 the TPP begins to burn waste.

Greenpeace – Bulgaria and “For the Earth” recall that for years they have been fighting for the cessation of waste incineration, but this practice received strong public disapproval in late 2019. In early March 2020, with the assistance of La international human rights organization ClientEarth, environmentalists have also filed a complaint with the European Commission against illegal waste incineration practices at several outdated coal-fired power plants in Bulgaria.

“The incineration of waste exposes the workers of these plants, who live in the regions and nature, to a great risk to health. Emissions from the incineration of waste can contain heavy metals, dioxins and furans, which are present in waste gases, water or ash, “said Meglena Antonova from Greenpeace – Bulgaria.

In recent years, waste incineration has been an ingenious way to reduce carbon costs amid the deteriorating economic performance of coal-fired power plants. It appears that TPP owners like Bobov Dol intend to exploit obsolete facilities to the last, before surrendering to the advent of new technologies and bequeathing polluted soil and water and vast areas for rehabilitation to the public, environmentalists say.