Waste sorting in Vilnius region to resume next week with Ekobazė

The Vilnius Regional Waste Management Centre (VAATC) has announced that waste sorting in the Vilnius region will fully resume by the end of next week, with the involvement of a third company, Ekobazė, according to a report by LRT and BNS.

VAATC director Marius Švaikauskas stated that Ekobazė is expected to begin sorting waste by the end of next week, helping to address the ongoing waste crisis in the region. This follows agreements with two other companies, Ecoservice and Ekonovus, which are already handling 65% of the region’s waste sorting. Ekobazė’s participation will bring the total to 100%.

Švaikauskas noted that while the contract with Ekobazė has not yet been finalised, preliminary terms have been discussed. The agreement is expected to last up to six months, matching the duration of contracts with the other two companies. “All suppliers are offered the same conditions. We are still in negotiations with Ekobazė, and a formal price has not yet been set,” he said.

Marina Curko-Notkuvienė, director of Ekobazė, confirmed that the company is in the process of finalising contract terms and plans to start sorting about 35% of the Vilnius region’s waste next week. She added that Ekobazė needs to acquire additional sorting equipment and hire more staff for the project, as the company has prior experience in waste sorting across multiple landfills in Lithuania.

VAATC is also preparing to take over the waste sorting plant in Gariūnai from its current operator, Energesman. Švaikauskas stated that the centre is planning to add more technical and sorting capacity, as well as hire additional personnel. The transition follows VAATC’s decision to terminate its contract with Energesman, which had previously challenged the move in court. However, the Vilnius Regional Court rejected Energesman’s request for interim measures to halt the contract termination.

“The court essentially rejected Energesman’s request to stop our actions to terminate the contract, as there were no grounds for it. Therefore, the process continues,” Švaikauskas said. He added that VAATC expects to regain control of the facility by August 7, 20 days after the termination notice was issued.

Švaikauskas criticised Energesman for failing to comply with instructions from the Vilnius Emergency Operations Centre (ESOC), stating that the company’s refusal to accept sorted waste from other operators could lead to administrative liability for its management. He also noted that VAATC is preparing contingency plans to avoid sending waste to landfills, though he hopes such measures will not be necessary.