The residents of the Plovdiv municipality of Kaloyanovo won a case in the Administrative Court against the increase in the municipal waste fee for 2025. The court overturned the decision of the local municipal council to increase the garbage fee, thus putting an end to more than a year of accumulated tension, protests and dissatisfaction among the people. The decision of the Municipal Council in Kaloyanovo to increase the fee was taken in early 2025, which caused the tax to jump between two and four times in some settlements.
The Administrative Court in Plovdiv, with decision No. 4692, declared the increase in the garbage fee illegal, citing several arguments. According to the magistrates, the budget plan was not prepared in accordance with legal requirements, there is no report for the previous year for either the expenses incurred or the revenues collected, and it is not indicated whether there are any funds remaining from previous years that can be added to the revenue side. The decision also states that there is a lack of transparency in the announcement of a public discussion, as well as in the data on the amount of waste collected by the municipality in a year. According to the magistrates, the municipality has not justified the need to increase the number of containers in populated areas and the frequency of their collection.
“The decision does not justify the increase in the frequency of waste collection and transport in villages with a large number of containers, compared with the previous year, 2024, when waste collection was scheduled three times a month in all settlements. By increasing the frequency from three to four times a month in the villages where the largest number of containers is planned, the monthly and annual costs of the waste collection and transport service also increase, without any clear explanation of the need for this increase,” the Administrative Court said in its ruling.
The case was brought by Tonya Hristozova, the mayor of Chernozemen, and was subsequently supported by individuals and legal entities.
“For us, this is a victory for justice. The court recognised that the household waste charge imposed on the residents of Kaloyanovo had been unlawfully increased. I fought for the people and brought the case because of them,” Hristozova said.
She said the main problem behind the unlawful increase was the formula used to calculate the charge.
“The large companies, which have high tax assessments, were excluded, and as a result the rates applied to households in the villages went up. The Local Taxes and Fees Act states that revenue must correspond to expenditure. According to the municipality’s formula, the revenue generated in the settlement exceeds its expenditure by €30,000, which means that this money is going somewhere else, and that is not lawful,” Hristozova said.
She thanked everyone who had supported the residents’ demands, as well as civil society and the media, including the “Za Istinata” platform, for helping highlight the issue.
Residents of Kaloyanovo welcomed the Administrative Court’s decision with relief.
“This is a huge victory for all of us. It has shown that when we stand together, we can defend our rights,” one resident said.
Others said the ruling was particularly important for elderly people.
“Most of us are pensioners. These amounts were unaffordable. At last there is justice,” residents said.
They stressed that they were not opposed to paying taxes, but insisted that the charges must be lawful and reflect people’s actual incomes and living conditions.
Residents are also asking whether they will receive compensation for waste charges they believe were unlawfully collected in 2025 and 2026.
“For yet another time, those in power have shown that they do not defend people’s interests or work for the development of the municipality, but only and exclusively for their own benefit and personal gain,” Kaloyanovo residents wrote on social media.
The household waste charge was increased on 30 December 2024 by a decision of the Kaloyanovo Municipal Council. The rate was raised from 13 to 29.5 per mille, with the municipality arguing that the increase was necessary because of higher costs for servicing waste containers and processing waste.
Residents challenged that reasoning at the time, citing a lack of clear calculations, accountability and transparency.
