Marine and River Litter Elimination New Approach

One of the priority environmental problems for the localities of Cahul district in the Republic of Moldova is the waste. Accumulation of the waste problem is generated by the faulty mode in which they are managed. The waste ramps are not properly constructed and arranged, they do not have isolation and protection systems and the burial works are not done in time and according to the efficient technologies. Inappropriate management of ramps generates soil and groundwater contamination, contributes to the emission of gases with unfavorable effects on health of population and environment.

The evaluation of the legal framework revealed that in the chapter on the regulation of solid household waste, it contains several shortcomings, gaps, imperfections of the norms of law, they are unclear or even outdated. Thus, in the event of imbalance, inconsistency and instability of the legal rules, there is a risk of unilateral, derogatory and inappropriate interpretation and application of the legislation.

The current system for the regulation and management of solid waste collection and disposal in Cahul district localities, Republic of Moldova, is not effective and does not minimize the negative effects on the environment following the disposal of waste. Significant changes are required in regulating these activities and in organizing the system to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. The problems identified, together with the recommendations for improvement, are set out in this study.

These being mentioned, determine the necessity of reviewing and re-evaluating the legislative and normative framework in the field, in order to eliminate the discrepancies between the norms of law and the existing irregularities, to exclude the presence of the outdated rules, in compliance with the current environmental protection requirements and the community legislation, drafting or amending the legislation.

European Community’s best practices recommend the development of a strategy and programs on waste management and how to optimize waste disposal sites. For example, landfills can be constructed for several localities in the Cahul district, so each locality would save from building and maintaining its own deposit, which can be quite expensive. There is no general strategy in the Republic of Moldova for optimizing the use of waste disposal sites. Each locality is in the position to develop its own waste disposal plans and practices, which creates inefficiencies in the waste management system.

The current EU waste policy is based on a concept known as the waste hierarchy. This means that, ideally, waste formation should be prevented, and what cannot be prevented is to be reused, recycled and exploited as much as possible with the least use of landfills. Waste landfills are the worst option for the environment, as it means a loss of resources and would determine future impact for the health of population. Under European directives, thematic strategies represent a new approach to environmental policy, while national ones provide for the development of the waste management strategy.

The action of the National Waste Program has expired, with no state strategy in place.
Although the National Waste Program envisaged waste minimization measures, their maximum inclusion in the economic circuit (processing, use) and their environmentally-friendly placement in the environment, stipulating the deadlines for the realization, it was found that they were not fully realized, as a reason serving the objective and subjective factors: lack of procedures and methodologies for realization; non-financial coverage; institutional changes in governance structures; redistribution of skills, etc.

No formal assessments of the needs of the Cahul District as well as of the country have been carried out at this time regarding the current situation and the remedial possibilities. Not enough resources have been allocated in the given field, the only sources being allocated by the financial means of the National Ecological Fund (henceforth - FEN). Analyzing the situation regarding the existence of waste ramps, as set out in the annual report of the State Ecological Inspectorate, it was found that in some localities there is more than one landfill, without taking into account the stylized waste dumps.

Although it was envisaged that the MADRM should elaborate the general scheme for the location of landfills and production landfills, it was not defined yet. The unavailability of national planning waste management tools has influenced the capacity of local authorities to effectively monitor and supervise waste management activities at LPAA level. Thus, responsibility for LPAAs cannot be ensured in the absence of quantifiable objectives and operational plans.

Recommendations for LPAA - local public administration authorities of the Cahul district of Moldova:
1) To update and elaborate the new local waste management strategy based on evaluation of the current situation in the district and republic, jointly with other public administration bodies with attributions in the field, determining the priority regions, identifying the sources of financing for its implementation etc.;
2) To draw up and implement a training action plan (measures, responsibilities, deadlines) for LPAA regarding waste management field;
3) To determine the methodology for the development of local waste management plans / programs;
4) To establish tasks and modalities for monitoring of the implementation of plans at local level;
5) To determine the types of deposits required to be created on the territory of the district according to the types of waste formed;
6) To determine procedures for landfill management, including the exhaustive regulation of the actions, the necessary documents, etc., starting with the stage of selecting and assigning land for waste disposal, taking into account the types of waste to be deposited, as well as establishing the requirements design and construction;
7) Jointly with MADRM to determine how to authorize the operation (exploitation) of landfills;
8) Jointly with MADRM to establish procedures for the registration of storage sites, to organize their subsequent records for the purpose of their monitoring;
9) To develop an action plan for reducing the volume of waste for final disposal and reducing the types of waste allowed for storage;
10)Jointly with MADRM to develop the methodology for setting payments to cover waste collection and storage costs, including the accumulation of means for closure and posttreatment activities of the waste deposits.

Recommendations for cooperation between MADRM and LPAAs of Cahul District
11) To develop procedures for the determination of norms in the field, including the establishment of acceptable storage norms and limits, including the restrictions on the types of waste deposited in accordance with the relevant European directives;
12) To determine the institutional framework for the organization of sanitation services of localities; 13) To establish the methodology for the elaboration of the local sanitation programs of the localities; 14) To evaluate the financial resources needed to strengthen sanitation services and identify possible sources for their financing;
15) To determine and regulate the conditions (possibilities) of separate waste collection and transmission for processing;
16) To determine, in territorial aspect (localities, objectives), waste management priorities, which need to be supported from the financial means of FEN;
17) To develop and approve standardized forms (content and form) of environmental and sanitary approvals, valid for all types of projects, including also the conformity of the documents presented with the building norms;
18) To attract qualified specialists in the field for verifying the documents submitted at the request of the means of the FEN, including the responsibility of the environmental and sanitary authorities to issue the opinions for the construction of the objectives with environmental impact;
19) To ensure the supervision of the project implementation, by making visits to the territory and drawing up the necessary documents;
20) To ensure the compliance of the landfill construction works by requesting the State Construction Inspection and Ecological Expertise, both at the early stages of the ramp construction projects and after their completion.

Recommendations for cooperation between Ministry of Health and LPAAs of Cahul District 21) To elaborate regulations on performing sanitary-epidemiological surveillance in the field of solid waste management, coordinating them with MADRM;
22) To establish concrete measures, with the identification of the financial sources, regarding the support of the public healthcare institutions in the field of medical waste treatment;
23) To establish the methodology and periodicity of carrying out the supervision of the waste disposal sites by the sanitary-epidemiological service;
24) To supervise and verify procedures for the management of medical waste and its separation from solid household waste;
25) To elaborate and approve the classification of waste resulting from the activity of medical institutions on the territory of Cahul District, as well as the plan of measures for management of medical, food and household waste.

/2019-03-22/