Photo: screenshot from a video by Rusemedia
Prof. Lyubomir Vladimirov from the Ecology and Green Urban Environment Directorate of the Municipality of Ruse claims that the institution has not been notified of waste burning
Photo: screenshot from a video by Rusemedia
“When it comes to waste, air, and people’s health, decisions cannot be made quietly and take advantage of the Christmas and New Year holidays, during which the one-month period for comments runs. Ruse has the right to complete clarity, honest conversation, and real participation in the process.”
Belchev wrote on his Facebook profile.
The MP has submitted parliamentary questions on the subject to the Minister of Environment and Water, and on Thursday he will meet with representatives of TPP-Ruse.
“The municipality of Ruse has not been notified that waste will be incinerated in the city of Ruse,”
Prof. Lyubomir Vladimirov from the Ecology and Green Urban Environment Directorate of the Ruse Municipality commented to local media. He described the information as “sowing confusion and fear.”
Vladimirov also commented on the fact that the information about the application by D Konsey Ltd. was published on the municipality’s website on December 18, just days before a series of holidays. “We have a deadline by which we must announce these procedures, regardless of whether they are holidays or days off,” he said.
An investigation by “Za Istinata” (For the Truth), published on January 5, first reported on the intention of a company belonging to Hristo Kovachki’s invisible energy holding “Orion” to increase the capacity of the waste treatment plant in the “Pod Ormana” area near Ruse. In numbers, this means an increase in the amount of waste processed from 70,000 tons per year to 102,000 tons. In addition, the company wants permission to produce up to 30,000 tons per year of high-calorie fuel from waste, also known as RDF.
On December 29 last year, Za Istinata sent written questions to the press center of the Municipality of Ruse, but neither the Municipality of Ruse nor Toplofikatsiya Ruse EAD responded before the publication of the investigation.
Following the reaction of MP Ivan Belchev, Toplofikatsiya Ruse EAD posted on its Facebook page that “Toplofikatsiya Ruse has not declared any investment intentions, nor does it have the facilities to work with RDF.”
Concerns that the complex permit currently being applied for by D Konsey OOD is intended to open the door for TPP-Ruse to burn RDF fuel are based on several facts.
On the one hand, D Konsey Ltd. is a subsidiary of Toplofikacia Ruse EAD, and both are part of Hristo Kovachki’s invisible energy holding Orion, which was exposed in 2025 in an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Fund.
D Konsey Ltd’s application for a complex permit only provides for the preparation of waste for incineration or co-incineration. The process only includes separation, shredding, and natural drying of the RDF fraction, but not its incineration.
In a letter to “Za Istinata,” the company wrote that
“All activities related to the treatment and subsequent utilization of waste, including RDF fuel produced, will be carried out only with valid permits and in full compliance with applicable legislation.”
Currently, D Consei Ltd. has a contract, following a successful public tender, for the treatment of mixed municipal waste in the municipalities of Ruse, Slivo Pole, Tutrakan, and Vetovo, which prohibits the incineration of RDF on their territory. However, this restriction can be circumvented with the “prior written consent of the Contracting Authority.”
Toplofikacia Ruse EAD already attempted to obtain a permit to incinerate RDF several years ago, which ultimately failed. The reason is that the company withdrew its investment intention after the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water insisted on conducting an EIA.
