Organisations Submit Petition Opposing Waste Incinerator at Slovnaft (2)

Bratislava, 14 April (TASR) - Environmental organisations on Tuesday submitted a petition with 18,722 signatures to the Environment Ministry opposing the planned construction of a waste incinerator on the Slovnaft refinery site in Bratislava, highlighting the project's risks, its unsuitable location, health hazards and the suppression of cleaner solutions in the circular economy, Ivana Nemethova from the Concerned Mothers initiative told a press briefing on the same day. The organisations are calling on Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) to reject the proposal as part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA). Slovnaft has responded by saying that it values every initiative from civil society that addresses waste management issues. The Environment Ministry views the petition as a marketing ploy. According to Monika Medovicova from Friends of the Earth, Slovakia should prioritise waste recycling and waste prevention. She noted that waste incinerators aren't a zero-waste technology, as they produce fly ash, which is problematic. According to environmental expert Ladislav Hegyi, there's no need for an incinerator in Bratislava. "Locating an incinerator for primarily municipal waste in Bratislava is professionally unjustified and creates the risk of waste imports or the suppression of recycling. It's also the least suitable location in terms of Slovakia's waste management needs," said Hegyi, adding that the documentation for the planned construction is confusing and lacks necessary information. According to him, the project must be sent back for revision. Slovnaft spokesperson Anton Molnar claims that several civil associations are actively involved in the EIA process and that a dialogue took place during the comments period, leading to modifications to the project. According to Molnar, these changes were also reflected in the final assessment of the EIA process - that is, the report from an independent expert evaluator - which was positive. "Energy recovery from non-recyclable municipal and industrial waste is a technology that Slovakia will inevitably need in the coming years. European legislation significantly restricts the use of landfills, and Slovakia currently lacks sufficient capacity for the portion of waste that can't be recycled," stated Molnar, noting that Slovakia is reliant on exporting some of its waste abroad for energy recovery. According to him, this results in additional transport burdens and emissions, and the heat and energy produced are thus utilised outside of Slovakia. According to the Environment Ministry, the project parameters are lower than those of the original proposal, specifically by 100,000 tonnes of waste per year. "At the same time, the need to build an incinerator reflects enormous pressure, primarily from the automotive industry, which can't secure further investments unless waste management is addressed. Representatives of the automotive industry clearly stated this requirement at a government meeting dedicated specifically to the automotive sector," ministry spokesperson Kristina Letkova told TASR. The ministry noted that the review process for the Slovnaft incinerator has been underway since 2023. "Everyone therefore had ample time to raise any objections, but not after the process had been concluded; consequently, this initiative by a handful of activists is merely a marketing ploy to gain visibility," said the ministry concerning the petition. Slovnaft views the petition as a legitimate and natural expression of opinion by a segment of the public. At the same time, it's convinced that an expert discussion based on facts, data and the country's needs is "the best foundation for finding long-term sustainable solutions in the field of waste management". A centre for producing energy from waste is set to be built within the existing Slovnaft refinery complex in Bratislava. The centre will consist of a facility for further sorting separated waste components and equipment for producing energy from waste. The construction work should be launched this year, completed in 2029, and the facility put in operation in 2030. More than two thirds of the waste to be processed will consist of standard mixed municipal waste and less than a third difficult-to-process industrial waste, including waste from Slovnaft. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 3-9. am/df