Addressing Ukraine's Waste Management Challenge
A major investment of approximately 5 billion euros is planned to resolve Ukraine's waste problem. This figure comes from an assessment by political analyst Yuriy Romanenko, who also stressed the need to build a network of waste processing plants and waste-to-energy power stations. Investor Yevhen Barakh confirmed this estimate and noted that the equipment for such facilities could be manufactured domestically in Ukraine.
Construction Costs and Potential Benefits
Implementing the project in Zhytomyr, with a population of 260-300 thousand, required 12 million euros to build a plant. For Kyiv, home to 3 million people, the estimated cost is around 120 million euros. The total national budget is projected at 1.2 billion euros, which would cover the country's waste disposal needs. This initiative is part of a broader push for modern infrastructure following Russia's invasion, which has intensified focus on energy independence and environmental security.
Yuriy Romanenko further noted that combined heat and power plants (CHPPs) running on refuse-derived fuel could meet 20-30% of a city's heating requirements. Yevhen Barakh emphasized this is a long-term program and that he has previously ordered equipment for waste processing plants from manufacturers in the cities of Sumy, Berdychiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kharkiv.
'We can boost related industries this way, and there is nothing overly complex about that equipment. It can be manufactured right here in Ukraine' – Yevhen Barakh.
Consequently, executing this program could significantly improve Ukraine's ecological situation and help supply cities with heat and electricity.
The push to adopt new technologies in waste management and energy could mark a crucial step for Ukraine, given its pressing environmental issues and need for renewable energy sources. The project would not only reduce waste volumes but also create new jobs in the regions where the processing plants are built, potentially giving a positive boost to the national economy.