Vilnius waste crisis should not be solved at Kazokiškės expense, says Environment Ministry chancellor

The waste management crisis in the Vilnius region should not be resolved at the expense of the Kazokiškės landfill in the Elektrėnai district, the chancellor of Lithuania’s Environment Ministry has said.

Vladislavas Kondratovičius told LRT Radio that while mixed waste is no longer being transported to Kazokiškės, challenges may still arise from the processing of biodegradable waste.

“Mixed waste will definitely not [be taken to Kazokiškės], the question is about biodegradable materials that have not yet completed the rotting and processing cycle. But today we can say that they should not end up in Kazokiškės either,” Kondratovičius said.

He noted that Vilnius has taken steps to address the issue, including negotiations with the mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) operator to increase capacity and accept biodegradable waste for processing.

Some waste will be incinerated in coordination with the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant (VKJ), while Vilnius waste management sites will redistribute waste streams to prevent untreated biodegradable waste from reaching Kazokiškės before full processing, the chancellor added.

“We should not solve the problems that have arisen in Vilnius city and the Vilnius region at the expense of the residents of Elektrėnai and Kazokiškės,” Kondratovičius stated.

Gediminas Ratkevičius, mayor of Elektrėnai, confirmed that the flow of mixed waste to Kazokiškės has stopped and the crisis is under control. He said the municipality had formally intervened, and state institutions and Vilnius officials had responded by halting mixed waste deliveries to the regional landfill near Kazokiškės.

Earlier this month, the Vilnius Regional Waste Management Centre (VAATC) reported that the crisis of unsorted waste in the capital had been resolved. However, issues persist due to contractual failures by Energesman, the company responsible for processing biodegradable waste. VAATC director Marius Švaikauskas said the company continues to fall short of its obligations, accepting only a portion of the biodegradable waste it is required to handle.

According to Švaikauskas, the crisis was brought under control with the help of other partners—Ecoservice and Ekonovus—while Ekobazė is expected to join next week. In early July, Vilnius City Municipality decided to temporarily redirect all mixed municipal waste from the capital region to the Kazokiškės landfill after operational disruptions at Energesman’s MBT plant disrupted waste intake from all eight VAATC regional municipalities.

Energesman has called the decision to terminate its contract unlawful, insisting it had fulfilled its obligations. The company also warned that transferring waste management to Ecoservice, Ekonovus, and Ekobazė would make Vilnius entirely dependent on these few firms.