Sadovyi Asks to Declare an Environmental Emergency in Lviv

Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi has asked President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to declare Lviv and the adjacent villages of Malekhiv and Velyki Hrybovychi an environmental emergency area, according to the press service of Lviv City Council.

The reason for his plea is the situation in Velyki Hrybovychi landfill, where a recent fire and landslide caused several deaths. The village council of Velyki Hrybovychi has subsequently passed a resolution to close operation of the landfill for good, and locals maintain their decision not to let a single garbage truck through.

Mayor Sadovyi outlined three primary tasks: finding a new area for garbage collection to eliminate the environmental threat for Lviv; facilitating the approval of a joint project with the EBRD on recultivation of Velyki Hrybovychi landfill and construction of a modern recycling plant by European standards (which was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers two months ago) and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the fire at the landfill.

In return, President Poroshenko asked Mayor Sadovyi not to "politicize the garbage issue", but at the same time promised full support of the central government in solving the problem and investigation of the causes of the tragedy.

Source: Ukrayinska Pravda