From the beginning of the month, the transition period for waste carriers who started working in Vilnius under the new procedure ends. Waste containers that have not been emptied, their sites left untidy and other violations will be officially recorded from Wednesday, and financial sanctions will be applied for non-compliance with the provisions of the contracts.
Rimantas Juknevičius, director of the municipal company VASA, says that, understanding the scale and burden of the changes, efforts were made to help carriers, but the period of increased tolerance towards them ends already on May 15.
"While asking for the understanding of the population, we did not forget that their interests and the quality of the service provided are the most important to us, so we cannot allow the period of increased tolerance to prolong." By signing service contracts, carriers declared and committed that they would be able to work and ensure cleanliness and order in the city. Unfortunately, all we can say today is that if any carrier overestimated their strength or thought that we will let the transitional phase last as long as they want, they are wrong. We are ready to take strict impact measures", says R. Juknevičius.
A fine of 60 euros may be applied for each container that is not emptied on time, according to the schedule, or for not providing waste holders with individual and shared containers according to the contract. Financial fines are threatened for leaving untidy container parking lots, not marking the containers themselves with identification stickers.
"The conditions of the published tenders were clearly and concretely formulated, each waste carrier had the opportunity to assess its capabilities and opportunities to serve the specified areas with modern vehicles capable of weighing waste, and to hire a sufficient number of employees. None of the carriers are new to the business, so we believe that half a month is a sufficient period to tighten up the processes", says the head of VASA.
Since May 1, VASA has received reports from residents and companies about 2,3 thousand. in cases where the waste was not removed on time, received photos confirming this.
In addition, about 500 requests were received to deliver waste containers to residents who until now did not have them and possibly did not pay for waste management, but a very small part was delivered.
VASA waste inspectors in the city record detectable violations of waste management - they are found in all zones without exception. Until now, VASA crews have helped carriers mark containers, find unmarked containers, and enter the territories, but after May 15, their time will be devoted to recording violations.
"I have to admit that so far information sharing is like a one-way street. Our employees accept complaints, requests, look for contacts on how to get into closed areas, while the carriers are still late in providing orderly schedules, they do not adhere to their provided schedules. In addition, we do not receive information that the waste containers are weighed as stipulated in the contracts and which is important for the accurate and maximally correct calculation of taxes in the future. Such a situation does not satisfy either the residents or us," asserts R. Juknevičius.
Until May 15, transporters were allowed to use all available vehicles, including old ones, to remove the waste.
VASA invites residents to continue to actively inform about non-removable waste and other violations, to indicate the exact address where the problem is. Residents and companies are invited to use e-mail, because the volume of calls is enormous, and some residents have to wait for answers.
Since May 1, Vilnius has been divided into five parts. The northern, eastern and western zones are served by Ecoservice, the central zone by VSA Vilnius, and Ekonovus in the south.
The reorganization aims to implement the principle "everyone uses, everyone pays". Until now, about a third of the population used the system illegally, threw their waste at neighbors or in the city, but did not pay for it.
More information on waste reform - www.sivasa.lt