Prime minister calls emergency meeting over Vilnius waste crisis

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has called an emergency meeting on Monday to address the ongoing waste crisis in the Vilnius region, following last year’s fire at the Vilnius waste sorting plant, LRT reports.

Sinkevičius stated last week that the situation had escalated beyond local control, potentially requiring state intervention to find solutions. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), told BNS on Friday that a plan to manage the crisis should be clarified by Monday. He warned that if cooperation with all participants in the waste sorting chain is not achieved, a state of emergency could be declared nationwide by Wednesday.

The NKVC chief emphasised the need to ensure the Vilnius cogeneration plant burns as much sorted waste as possible. Declaring a state of emergency would allow waste flows from the Vilnius region to be redirected to other sorting centres.

The waste crisis in Vilnius stems from the fire at the sorting plant, which has yet to resume normal operations. The Vilnius County Waste Management Centre (VAATC) last week filed a lawsuit and contacted the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office over the plant operator Energesman’s allegedly illegal activities, seeking a court order to transfer the plant’s operations.

Energesman, however, has asked the court to halt VAATC’s unilateral termination of its contract, through which the centre is attempting to take over the operator’s activities. Energesman director Algirdas Blazgys believes that if all participants in the waste sorting chain work together, the situation in Vilnius could stabilise within a few weeks.

Mantas Burokas, head of the Vilnius cogeneration plant, argued that burning waste alone would not solve the problem. Environmentalists have urged Energesman to urgently reduce accumulated waste at the site due to growing environmental risks, while Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas has warned of fire hazards. Firefighters are currently stationed at the waste sorting plant.