Bulky Schemes: Are Sofinvest and Pancharevo's District Inspectorate Protecting Abuses of Sofia's System for Bulky Waste Removal?

The municipal company Sofinvest and the Pancharevo District Inspectorate are the main characters in the second part of the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation’s (ACF) investigation into illegal waste management practices in Sofia.

In part one of the investigation, ACF uncovered a parallel system for illegally dumping construction waste and spoils that had created more than 240 unregulated dumpsites in Sofia Municipality. Part two, titled Bulky Schemes, presents evidence of abuses in Sofia’s bulky waste disposal system.

“In Sofia, the collection of bulky waste, such as old furniture and sanitary ware, is outsourced to private companies,” said Sofia Zheleva, a member of the ACF legal team. “These companies collect bulky waste from the city streets and their vehicles operate along routes requested by the district inspectorates. The waste is transported to the Vrazhdebna municipal landfill and Sofia Municipality pays for the service.”

The ACF has evidence of forgeries where construction waste and spoils had been dumped at the landfill but registered as bulky waste. Thus, Sofia Municipality is embezzled twice – once because of companies not paying the due fees for construction waste disposal, and a second time when that same waste is classified as bulky waste and the perpetrators receive payments by the municipal budget.

The scheme was revealed by the new management of the Metropolitan Inspectorate which noticed significantly inflated figures in the weighing slips filed daily by the Pancharevo District Inspectorate. The slips are issued at the Vrazhdebna landfill and show the tonnage of bulky waste transported during each trip. Typically, trucks carrying bulky waste weigh between 1.5 and 5 tonnes. Trucks carrying construction waste and spoils tend to weigh around 10 tonnes.

The new director Eng. Nikolay Nedelkov ordered an on-site inspection which established that in two days, out of 28 trucks supposed to be carrying bulky waste, eleven were loaded with construction spoils. In addition, it transpired that waste collection vehicles were following the pre-determined routes (the collection points are requested in advance by the heads of the district inspectorates) but were moving without stopping.

In Pancharevo, bulky waste collection has been outsourced to the consortium Titan Sofia East 1. ACF approached the private consortium for a comment but none has been provided to date.

According to Eng. Nedelkov, the abuses in Pancharevo alone cost Sofia Municipality some BGN 5,000 per day. In addition, depositing construction waste instead of bulky waste is only possible with the support of the heads of the district inspectorates.

Heading the district inspectorate in Pancharevo is Ilian Savov. Savov’s transfer to a different position was one of the first steps that Eng. Nedelkov took after he was appointed director of the inspectorate. Immediately after Savov was transferred, the mayors in the Pancharevo district started complaining that Savov’s replacement was not coping. They asked for Ilian Savov to be returned to the post. Savov was reinstated and the violations continued. Following additional checks and control measures, the abuses have stopped. The ACF approached Mr Savov but has not received a comment yet.

It appears that the scheme also enjoyed the support of officials at the Vrazhdebna landfill which is equipped with cameras (at the entrance and exit of the weighbridge) and whose staff monitor trucks entering and leaving the premises. The landfill is operated by Sofinvest, a municipal company. From 2013 until the end of July this year, Sofinvest was managed by Eng. Chavdar Gigov.

“It’s impossible for a truck, supposed to be carrying bulky waste, to enter Vrazhdebna loaded with construction waste and spoils without anyone noticing,” said Sofia Zheleva.

The Metropolitan Inspectorate also encountered a third, equally disturbing practice. Empty trucks entered Vrazhdebna, then exited loaded with bulky waste, heading in unknown directions.

“The fact that a lorry enters Vrazhdebna full and comes out empty is perfectly normal. But the fact that a truck enters empty, takes out bulky waste and drives it to an unknown destination is already worrying,” said Eng. Nedelkov who added that such waste was probably being transported to other municipal landfills, thus generating additional revenue for the companies involved (i.e. the company was essentially paid twice).

“Given the violations identified by the Metropolitan Inspectorate, the question arises of Sofinvest’s ability to exercise control over what happens at their sites,” Zheleva said.

ACF contacted Eng. Chavdar Gigov who said in a telephone conversation that the monitoring of the entrance and exit of the landfill is carried out via cameras and physically, by employees. He further stated that all trucks entering the facility should be registered in advance. According to Gigov, bulky waste is exported from Vrazhdebna to the landfill in Kostinbrod as per a contract between Sofinvest EAD and Kostinbrod Eco AD. This information has so far not been confirmed conclusively by Kostinbrod Eco which ACF has approached for comments.

“Even if such a contract exists, its implementation would be contrary to the terms of the waste treatment permits issued to the two landfills. Both facilities are permitted and obligated to treat the waste, including bulky waste, collected on the territories of their respective municipalities. By law, this activity cannot be outsourced,” Zheleva said.

Since 26 July, Sofinvest has had new management elected, along with the management boards of several other municipal companies, by the Sofia City Council in a rather controversial procedure. The decision was taken with the minimum required majority. There were no competitive procedures and no public hearings of the candidates. The ACF has also addressed questions to the current management of Sofinvest EAD, but to date, there has been no comment from the company.

Boyko Stankushev, director of the ACF, said that the detected abuses in the collection of bulky waste suggest a well-organized and long-running illegal scheme, most likely patronized by the municipal company Sofinvest EAD.

“We call on the Sofia Municipal Council to exercise its functions as principal of Sofinvest and to ensure that the new management, although elected in a controversial procedure and without guarantees of transparency, will take firm action to overcome the illegal practices we have reported,” said Stankushev. “We continue to insist on action by the Ministry of Interior and the prosecutor’s office to identify the perpetrators and patrons of possible crimes.”