About BalBok

Household hazardous waste

2024-10-08

National system for household hazardous waste

The national system for household hazardous waste is a green service of BalBock Engineering AD for the municipalities in Bulgaria for separate collection, utilization and disposal of household hazardous and similar waste. Separate collection is carried out on request and according to a schedule by trained personnel at specialized mobile points. The system ensures the safety of citizens, prevention of pollution and accidents. Information is provided through a single national phone and information portal.

This is an innovative service that ensures compliance with national and European environmental legislation in the field of waste management, guaranteeing a high level of treatment of the collected waste with extremely low investments by municipalities in Bulgaria. The creation of the model for separate collection and recovery/disposal of household hazardous waste was reported at DepoTech 2012 in Leoben, Austria.

In 2011, Balbok Engineering AD - a leader in the field of hazardous waste treatment in Bulgaria - developed a model of a system for the separate collection of hazardous waste, generated in the household. The implementation started at the beginning of next year with the pilot project of the company and the Sofia Municipality.

Since 2014, with the accession of municipalities from the country, the system has developed on a national scale and covered more than 30 municipalities with a population of over 2.4 million people. The household hazardous waste, collected from the pilot centers in Levski, Sozopol, Saedinenie and Shumen, built according to the Bulgarian-Swiss Programme, is also treated according to the system.

The system was awarded an "Innovative Enterprise of the Year", 2014 in the field of "Green Innovation" at the Tenth National Innovation Forum, held in Sofia- https://arcfund.net/en/innovation-bg/

The system guarantees the separation of household hazardous waste from the general flow and has a direct effect on reducing the risks to people's health, the risk of accidents in populated areas and during waste collection and treatment activities. With the separation of dangerous components, the utilization of recyclable fractions from paper, metal, glass and plastics is also improved, which is key in developing the resource potential of waste and hence returning it as raw materials in production.

Hazardous waste is accepted free of charge by citizens at the Mobile collection point. The location of the mobile points is according to the approved schedule for the current year - the National System (with a link to the locations). The points are visited both by people who hand over hazardous waste from their homes, as well as by eco clubs of schools or simply citizens who are interested in the System. For some municipalities, there is also another possibility - visiting an address specified by the residents of the municipality, on request. For information and requests for the delivery of hazardous waste from your household, call 0700 11 750 at the cost of a local call.

The main groups of hazardous waste generated in households are:

  • Mercury and mercury containing appliances
  • Varnish and paint materials
  • Household detergents and chemicals
  • Ink and used printing materials
  • Pharmaceutical products (medicines with expired sell-by date)

 

NOT ACCEPTED: pressurized bottles (except aerosols), gases, infectious waste, lithium, sodium and potassium, waste and materials of unknown composition.

Used syringes/needles etc. are in the category of infectious waste (code 18 01 03* "waste, the collection and disposal of which is subject to special requirements for the prevention of infections", according to the waste classification regulation).

They are not accepted by the household hazardous waste collection system, as they would endanger the other visitors to the mobile points and the operator. Their handover and treatment is carried out by the hospitals that prescribed the respective treatment.

 

You will find detailed information and materials for the implementation of the System in the section

Products and services/National System for Household Hazardous Waste