The amendments to the Waste Management Act to put under question the existence of 2,000 companies purchasing ferrous and non-ferrous metals

Over 2, 000 companies trading in ferrous and non-ferrous metals and their recycling have submitted their application documents to the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism for legalising their sites or for being written off from the registry pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing the Waste Management Act (WMA). The new Waste Management Bill is being considered at second reading by the parliamentary Environment and Water Committee and stipulates that, within a 6-month deadline from its entry into force, companies trading in ferrous and nonferrous metals should initiate a new procedure with the Ministry of Environment and Water for the replacement of their licenses with permits.

The activity of the companies in the sector has also been interrupted by the legal vacuum created between the effective law and the one which is to be adopted by the National Assembly, commented Ivan Gruykin, representative of the Citizens' Initiative of the Dealers in Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metals and Recycling, reported the website of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA). According to Vladimir Dimitrov from the Bulgarian Association of Recycling (BAR), not a single company has received confirmation that it complies with the new requirements. The turnover of the metal recycling business amounts to BGN 2.2 bn, while BGN 950 mln were accumulated as a result of exports, clarified Dimitrov. The jobs in the sector number 20, 000, while those indirectly related to the staff collecting metals reach 180,000.

The discontent of the business sector was caused by the requirement for the collection of household waste to be carried out only at the municipal sites of settlements with an adopted Master Development Plan /MDP/. Currently, a total of 2, 300 sites operate. Because of the requirement in the new law, which entered into force on February 5, the sites cannot operate on the territory of municipalities lacking general development plans. According to recent data, out of a total of 264 municipalities, only 10 have development plans. "This could possibly result in the closing down of 1, 900 current sites out of all available sites in our country, which represent two-thirds of all business facilities," added Gruykin.

According to scrap dealers, the amendments were proposed in order to suspend illegal activities in the informal sector, but there are no real results and the new regulations impede the activities of law-abiding companies. Nearly BGN 1,136 bn were invested in sites for the collection and recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. In 2010, the companies from the branch contributed to the state budget corporate taxes of around BGN 30 mln.  Nearly BGN 25 mln have been transferred in the form of taxes, fees and social security contributions to some 20, 300 people employed by the branch.