A state of emergency has been declared in Vilnius due to a fire at a waste management plant over the weekend; unsorted waste may temporarily be incinerated at the capital's cogeneration power plant, says the mayor. Valdas Benkunskas.
This is one of three possible scenarios outlined by the city manager on Monday, in the event of a fire at the Energesman factory in Vilnius disrupting waste sorting. This company is the main waste sorter in the capital.
According to V. Benkunskas, the first goal is to reach an agreement with private waste managers.
"First of all, given the emergency situation for the whole of Vilnius, because the emergency situation was declared for the whole of Vilnius precisely due to the challenges of waste management, we are talking to private entities, carriers who work with waste, who have their own private sorting lines, so that we can make maximum use of them, so that mixed municipal waste is sorted and can be incinerated in a cogeneration power plant," said the mayor.
However, he noted that there is a lack of waste management capacity, with Vilnius currently only able to sort about 40 percent of municipal waste. The capital city collects about 400 tons of such waste per day.
"Therefore, we have to find other solutions. The second option, which can be temporarily used, is that unsorted waste can be burned for some time at the Vilnius cogeneration power plant," he said. V. Benkunskas.
According to him, therefore, in an emergency situation, institutions "must make all decisions to ensure that such an option exists."
"And in an emergency, I emphasize, an emergency due to environmental protection and national regulations, waste can be disposed of in a landfill. This option is considered the last option and we will use it if the first two are not sorted out and can be used," said the Mayor of Vilnius.
As V. Benkunskas emphasized, the main goal of the municipality is "to prevent Vilnius from being flooded with waste."
"There is a big challenge here, because the amount of waste is enormous, and even a half-day stoppage in waste collection and processing can cause ecological and health problems, so the work is truly intensive and important. As a result, there will be an emergency situation throughout Vilnius for some time," said the mayor of the capital.
According to V. Benkunskas, "the entire waste management chain has collapsed" and the city is currently unable to say how long the sorting equipment at the burned factory will be out of operation.
"There is an intensive relationship with the operator and I very much hope that their efficiency in first presenting solutions and then implementing them, so that we can gradually restore those mechanisms and ensure waste sorting, will remain at the same level," said the Mayor of Vilnius.
BNS wrote that a report about a fire at the Energesman factory, located at 13 Jočionyų Street, was received on Sunday before 8 a.m. A security guard informed officers about the fire.
According to Nerijus Statkus, head of the Vilnius Fire and Rescue Board, fire The fire was extinguished on Monday at around 13.45:7,5 p.m., burning about XNUMX thousand square meters of the building. Waste is currently being dug up at the scene, and still smoldering garbage is being moved.
The company previously stated in its statement that the fire may have been caused by improperly disposed waste by residents, but the version of arson is not ruled out.
As the Police Department reported earlier on Monday, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fire.
Officials will investigate whether there have been any violations of the rules for environmental protection or the use of natural resources, or the maintenance of structures in which hazardous materials are used or stored, potentially hazardous equipment is present, or hazardous activities are carried out.
Author Dominykas Biržietis
