INTERVIEW with the Mayor of Cărpineni commune

Compliance of Local Public Authorities (LPA) with the provisions of Law no. 209 regarding waste, involves ensuring the efficient execution of the imperative requirements for the management of certain categories of waste.

In this context, the LPAs of the Republic of Moldova are assigned the responsibility of creating an efficient system of integrated waste management by ensuring their separate collection, setting up special spaces for storing separately collected waste, storing municipal waste only in specially designed places, establishing how to manage municipal waste and last but not least record data and information on waste and waste management.

Thus, in this issue of the magazine we present an interview about The strategy for solving the problem of waste collection and management in Cărpineni commune, a healthy locality, an example to follow regarding the organization of an efficient waste management system. This is also thanks to a community leader, who was able to convince the local council, the population and economic agents of the need to support ECO initiatives in the community - the mayor of Cărpineni commune - Ion Cărpineanu.

MD: Dear Mr. Mayor of the Cărpineni commune, the correct management of waste is one of the not simple attributions of the LPAs. We know that a large part of the localities face the phenomenon of uncontrolled waste storage, the lack of operators and therefore the contracts concluded with sanitation operators, the lack of dumpsters for the selective collection of waste, the reluctance of the population and economic agents, etc. What is the position of the town hall and you personally regarding the current situation regarding the waste generated in the community and people's behavior towards this process?

Mister. Primary: The commune of Cărpineni being a modern and developed locality, based on the Local Development Strategy of the commune of CăRPINENI 2016 – 2020 – included as a tangible objective – the development of a waste collection and storage system. Objective largely achieved - thus receiving the status of a healthy locality. According to the market study on the behavior of the population towards waste, carried out in 2019 in the commune of Cărpineni - close links are revealed between the elements of logistics, public policies, community involvement and civic attitude. Thus, awareness of the importance of a civilized and responsible behavior towards the waste generated by society helps to increase the contribution of each person and organization to protect the environment.

M.D: Although there is a legal framework at the national level, we do not have a functional waste management system. The vast majority of Town Halls do not have local strategies and Waste Management Plans. What are the actions taken by the City Hall to ensure compliance with the provisions of the legal framework?

Mister. Primary: In order to solve the problem of waste in Cărpineni commune, APL, in agreement with the District Council, decided in 2014 to develop and implement a Action plan divided into several well-defined stages with the aim of accustoming the population to the idea of centralized household waste disposal and efficient management of temporary waste depots. This Plan involves 4 stages of implementation for the period 2015-2020.

At the first stage, in 2015, at the proposal of the Mayor, the Cărpineni Municipal Council decided to establish the waste disposal service in Cărpineni commune as a distinguished department within the "Cărpineni Services" Î.M. The economic calculation was carried out in order to determine the cost of this service under the conditions of minimum contracting from the population, and the rate for waste evacuation was established in the amount of 23 lei per household with the rhythmicity of waste evacuation once every 2 weeks. The City Hall, through the Decisions of the City Council, was equipped with a new service consisting of 3 tractors and 2 trailers intended for the evacuation of waste. In parallel with these actions, the City Hall contracted Î.M "Cărpineni Servicii" to carry out the liquidation of garbage in the neighborhood with the installation of signs prohibiting the illegal storage of waste. So far, 32 landfills in the neighborhood have been liquidated.

M.D:  Waste management involves investments, especially if we are talking about an infrastructure at locality/district level. In this context, the ability and training of LPAs to attract grants and implement eco-sustainable projects in the locality is a great advantage. What is the City Hall's experience in this regard and which projects have been successful or are to be implemented in the commune?

Mister. Primary: In stage 2, 2 projects with foreign funding were accessed and implemented to modernize the service.

1. Pilot project "Composting in rural localities", implemented with the aim of improving waste management in the Republic of Moldova, with the financial support of the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) in the Republic of Moldova in partnership with Carpineni City Hall, implemented by the Ecological Assistance Center in Chisinau. Through this project, more than 600 people were trained on what composting is, arguments in favor of composting and they received a guide on the correct composting of biodegradable waste. Another 300 households were provided with compost bins.
2. "Cleaner villages in Hîncești district" project, part of the "Cross-border rural network for a clean environment" Project, implemented by the City Hall of Cărpineni commune, Speranța NGO from Cărpineni village and the city of Chechelnik, Vinita region, Ukraine. The project is co-financed by the European Union through the Republic of Moldova - Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program within the Eastern Partnership (EaPTC) and UNDP Moldova through the "Migration and Local Development" Project. The project was implemented with the aim of improving the quality of public waste collection services by equipping management companies with specialized infrastructure.

MD: Each of us wants health and a clean environment. In this sense, an important role is played by the quality of sanitation services. Unfortunately, especially in rural areas, the population does not honor their obligation to pay sanitation fees, a fact that in the long term endangers the success of a waste management system. What is the situation in Cărpineni commune and how, Mr. Mayor, do you intend to make the residents responsible in this regard?

Mister. Primary: Currently, the third stage of solving the problem of the centralized evacuation of waste from households and economic agents is being carried out by applying some administrative levers on the subjects that do not have contracts for the evacuation of waste. Through the Decisions of the Cărpineni Municipal Council, it was decided to apply the sanitation fee in the amount of 8 lei/month for each person, and the people who hold waste disposal contracts will be exempted from paying the sanitation fee. In parallel with these measures, the City Hall of the Cărpineni commune has started a campaign to inform citizens about the harmful effects of waste stored in unauthorized places, about the sanctions provided for in Art. 154 Criminal Code. Also, as an incentive measure for signing contracts with Î/M "Cărpineni Servicii" the City Hall of Cărpineni commune offers a free dumpster to families that sign the waste disposal contract.

MD: What are the next actions of the commune for the further development of a modern sanitation system?

Mister. Primary: In what follows, respectively the last stage of the Action Plan, from the funding we are about to obtain, we will proceed with the construction of the inter-community waste deposit with a transfer station that will lead to the regionalization of the waste disposal service for approximately 40,000 citizens who live in the area of the villages of Bălceana, Sofia, Negrea, Cărpineni, Horjești, Mingir, Voinescu. Also, no less important, the organization of selective waste collection is planned, which will allow the municipality to supplement the budget with additional sources from the sale of properly selected waste.

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