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Azerbaijan develops a new system of household waste management

16 October 2008 13:03 (UTC +04:00)

As we know, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on August 6 for the improvement of waste management system in Baku. The objective is to establish modern standards in collection, transportation and disposal of wastes in the capital city.

The need to reform the utilities sector was highlighted in another presidential decree dated November 24, 2003 that envisioned accelerating socio-economic development in the country.
After that, international organizations have been involved in research and monitoring. In this regard, experts from the World Bank submitted a draft called the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project to the Government of Azerbaijan.
In accordance with the presidential decree, two waste management centers were chosen in Baku.
Baku Mayorâ€™s Office was determined as an agency for waste collection and transportation.
To this end, Baku Mayorâ€™s Office should take up the appropriate functions of the housing stocks and own vehicles and machines of other bodies that previously engaged in waste management.
In addition, Baku Majorâ€™s Office should hand over all collected solid waste to "Temiz Sheher" (Clean Town) joint-stock company which would deal with their disposal and recycling.
However, despite the efforts to improve public utilities services, the situation on household waste and suburbs remains deplorable in Baku.
Currently, the collection, transportation and disposal of waste do not meet environmental standards.
According to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, there is an average of 350 kg of waste per person in Baku a year.
The lack of dumpsters and special vehicles cause serious problems in refuse collection.
According to official figures, there are 2 540 refuse collection points and 3 landfill sites in the city.
The largest of them is Balakhani Landfill Site created in 1963.
Observations show that there are a number of problems, in particular the mixing of hazardous substances in groundwater, burning of waste materials and the spread of the poisonous fire smoke in the territory.
In addition, the lack of classification of garbage increases the risk of various infections.
So, the priority is to improve waste management system and set up a database on the annual volume, types and other details of garbage in the capital.
According to a 3 October 2007 presidential decree â€œOn the improvement of logistical base for public utilitiesâ€, AZN 25 million was allocated to the Majorâ€™s Office for procurement of vehicles.

These vehicles will help collect garbage from the streets of Baku.
Another order â€œon the improvement of waste management system in BakuÂ» is of great importance in terms of reform in this area.
In order to achieve the targets in the order, we can show the establishment of â€œClean Townâ€ company and plans afoot to build a garbage incineration plant at Balakhani Landfill Site and the World Bankâ€™s Integrated Solid Waste Management Project.
the Ministry of Economic Development said Franceâ€™s CNIM firm won a tender to built a garbage incineration plant negotiation are under way since April.
Negotiations are on the track of completion and an agreement will be signed after the coordination of procedures.
The agreement provides for the design engineering and construction of a plant at a capacity of incinerating 500 000 tons of garbage a year and the operation of the plant for 20 years (extendable for another 10 years).
The plant will have a 2 lines with capacities of 250 tons each, and turbines for power generation.
The Feasibility Study allows increasing the capacity of the plant by 50%, by adding the third line.
The plant will generate approximately 231.5 million kilowatts of electricity a year by burning waste.
Remains of ash from incinerators will be used in road construction.
The plant will be eco-friendly in compliance with the EU standards.
The turnkey agreement will be implemented by the same company on the principle of
DBO (Design-Build-Operate.
A presentation of the project was held at the Cabinet of Ministers on June 30.
In parallel, this project will complement the World Bankâ€™s Integrated Solid Waste Management Project.
The total project cost is $41.5 million, $29.5 million of which was provided by the World Bank (Maturity = 17 years; Grace Period = 4 year).
The objective of the Azerbaijan Absheron Rehabilitation Program (AARP)/Integrated Solid Waste Management Project is to support the reform of the Greater Baku solid waste collection and disposal operations into an effective and sustainable system in the fields of:(i) improving environmental conditions at the existing waste disposal sites; (ii) building-up operational, management and communication capabilities; (iii) rollout of collection services; and (iv) data collection and planning. There are five components to the project. The first component is the institutional reform, capacity building and project management. This component will support: (a) the completion of strategic planning; (b) the legal, financial, and organizational corporatization and establishment; (c) the operationalization; and (d) capacity building of the new joint stock Solid Waste Management Company (SWMC). The second component is the balakhani landfill rehabilitation and management. The investment aims to upgrade operations at the current site, deal with the negative environmental impacts from site operations including the closure of inactive areas. It will finance equipment (weighbridges, bulldozers, etc) and civil works (fencing, waste coverage, drainage control, internal roads, etc.) to control environmental impacts and improve site-use effectiveness while other solid waste management options are developed. The third component is the closure and management of other dumps. It will finance closure and cleanup of the informal dumps and improve management (or close) formal sites identified in the strategic plan. The fourth component is the urgent collection equipment for under-served Baku districts. It will help increase service quality and availability throughout the region, including areas that now lack effective collection, by financing urgently needed trucks, containers and bins to improve solid waste collection coverage and service efficiency in the most acutely underserved areas of greater Baku. Finally, the fifth component is the technical preparation of post-project investments. It will finance feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments needed to develop landfill capacity and introduce transfer stations to maintain an effective enhanced collection system. /APA-Economics /