Debris accounting in Ukraine is currently complicated due to the lack of a mechanism for determining their volumes. This is evidenced by the results of the extensive community survey conducted by the ReThink NGO (a member of the Ukraine Support Team coalition), as part of the development of methodological recommendations for the debris management.
Estimates of the Central executive authorities regarding the amount of debris sometimes differ tens of thousands of times: from 600 thousand to 15 billion tons. To have a deeper understanding of the real situation in communities, as well as to assess their ability to correctly account the data, a survey was conducted on the debris generation, their amount, and the types of materials used in construction. Our experts analyzed the communities’ responses and used them to develop methodological recommendations for determining the estimated amount of debris.
According to the responses of 159 communities, 40.25% have information about the building area of damaged objects; 61.01% know the number of floors; 49.06% have information on the total area of damaged objects. The rest do not have such information or have it partially, did not fill in the columns, or expressed assumptions.
Thus, in the Chernihiv and Kherson regions, documentation was lost in some communities as a result of active hostilities.
Stipulated by Cabinet Resolution No. 1073, the official sites for the temporary storage of debris (STS) were created in less than a third of the communities that participated in the survey.
At the same time, 33.33% of communities noted that they have untransported to the STS debris. The vast majority of communities – 78.62% (125 out of 159) – did not sort debris by type of materials. Only 8.18% (13 out of 159 communities) noted that they recorded information on the volumes of debris generation by object (address).
During the survey, we received responses from 257 communities from 19 regions of Ukraine (17.87% of the total). Communities from Sumy, Donetsk, and Lviv regions took the most active part in the survey.
No answers were received from the communities of the Volyn, Zakarpattia, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, and Mykolaiv regions.
In conducting the research, our specialists used and analyzed the data provided by 61.87% (159) communities since the rest indicated that they did not have destruction caused by the war or their questionnaires did not have enough information for analysis.
The survey results confirmed the ReThink NGO hypothesis that the debris accounting in Ukraine is based on general assumptions and not on actual or forecast information; it is not always possible to obtain high-quality statistical information on the volume and morphology of the generated waste. It is due to the fact that the state obliged communities to report monthly on the amount and component composition of debris (by Cabinet Resolution No. 1073) but did not provide them with a tool for calculating the volume of such waste.
This survey was conducted from February 28 to March 11, 2024, with the assistance of the Ministry for Community, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine by the method of self-filling the questionnaire by respondents.
Project “Rethink: Recommendations for Debris Management on the Frontlines” is a part of the Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative, implemented with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The team of the ReThink NGO, a member of the Ukraine Support Team (UST) coalition, continues to investigate the situation on the ground as part of a project to develop recommendations for the debris management.
“It is already clear that the majority of opinions boil down to the use of crushed debris for filling roads or leveling the terrain. Now it is important to understand whether it is possible to use the generated waste for the production of more valuable products, for example, construction products,” says the head of the UST coalition Olena Koltyk.
General situation in the region
According to the Kyiv Regional State Administration, as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, 28,800 objects were damaged in the territory of the region, the vast majority of which are private and multi-storey buildings – 26,000 objects. Demolition waste is currently stored at 32 sites for temporary storage in various communities.
With the support of Ukraine’s international partners, a pilot project on the processing of debris is being implemented in the Kyiv region. As part of cooperation, the region has already received 30 units of specialized equipment. According to Kyiv RSA data, three construction waste processing lines are planned to be launched in the region: a stationary one in Borodyanka and two mobile ones.
What is the situation on the ground?
In Bucha, debris is stored at a specially designated site. According to Yaroslav Duchenko, head of the Urban Improvement Inspection, the rubble of 130 buildings and one section of a high-rise building has already been dismantled in the city. The total volume of debris that reached the site of storage is 75,000 cubic meters. Most of it is concrete and bricks (about 51 thousand m³), as well as asbestos-containing materials (about 8 thousand m³). The main mass of debris is not sorted.
“Volumes, we estimate tentatively. We think they are 80% accurate. Of course, it would be more correct to sort them right on the spot, but the first sortings were simply taken out in bulk, as it was. Because it had to be done quickly, there were neither enough people nor enough time. The question was as follows: quickly disassemble, demolish on a pile, somewhere it was sorted, somewhere not – the equipment drives up and takes it away and the rebuilding process begins immediately”, explains Yaroslav Duchenko.
In Borodyanka, work on the dismantling of destroyed buildings is still ongoing, and sorted debris is stored at a special site, says the first deputy head of the village, Dmytro Negresha. Currently, negotiations are ongoing regarding the installation of a processing line nearby.
“We are left with 15 private houses and three sections in high-rise buildings that need to be dismantled. Recently, an entire 9-story building was dismantled in the center, concrete and bricks were crushed on the spot. They managed to dismantle and remodel the house in a week,” says Dmytro Negresha.
Near the village of Gorenka, ReThink experts discovered places of unauthorized dumping of hazardous waste from demolitions. In particular, a dirt road covered with crushed asbestos-containing slate, which is land pollution and a violation of Art. 239 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Project “Rethink: Recommendations for Debris Management on the Frontlines” is a part of the Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative, implemented with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The report summarizes the work result of the UST (Ukraine Support Team) – a coalition of local and national organizations committed to facilitating recovery and resilience in war-affected regions of Ukraine. Our mission is to create and sustain recovery ecosystems through social engagement, economic revival, and strategic collaborations.
Eight non-governmental organizations, analytical centres, and experts have united to work comprehensively to restore life in the front-line and de-occupied regions in 5 key directions of social sphere: energy and utilities, education, health care, legal advice on compensation for damaged housing and debris management.
Read or download the final report below.
On November 14th UST in Mykolaiv held the coordinational meeting of international organizations, and national NGOs working in the field of education in the Mykolaiv Region, the regional military administration representatives on problems and challenges in restoring access to education in the region and child protection, prospects for strengthening cooperation and establishing permanent ties, coordination, and presentations of presence strategies in the Mykolaiv region and concrete activity plans for 2024.
There are 35-40 organizations that participate directly in the education cluster in the Mykolaiv region. It seems impossible to resume in-person education in most communities of the region due to the proximity of the war zone and the high probability of shelling. Digital Learning Centers and the conversion of existing premises into temporary schools have proven to be effective solutions in communities that have been under occupation for a long time or on the front line of hostilities and have suffered significant destruction.
The main needs of the region in restoring access to education:
- arrangement of shelters;
- restoration of access to drinking water in Mykolaiv;
- increase in educational centers, extracurricular activities, and safety classes;
- reconstruction of professional education institutions;
- provision of psychological support and cyber security, etc.
Among the participants of the meeting were representatives of Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Mykolaiv City Council, UNICEF, Plan International, SavED, NGO “10th of April”, Charitable Fund “Children of Heroes”, Association of innovative and digital education, MontessoriUA, MontessoriMykolaiv, IREX, SURGe, NRC, Peace Winds Japan, IsraAID, NGO Oleksandr Pedan’s movement JuniorS, NGO ISTOK, Charitable organization “Club of benefactors”, Save the Children, Charitable fund «Schedryk».
On May 18 and 19, we visited communities of Mykolaiv Region- Mishkovo-Pogorilivska and Pervomayska communities. The needs of each community are individual and depend on many factors: the degree and nature of damage and destruction due to hostilities or occupation, the number of the population currently living and planning to return, the number of IDPs, etc.
The Pervomaysk settlement community was under occupation and suffered significant destruction. Airstrikes destroyed a school, private residential and apartment buildings, and businesses. The kindergarten and the outpatient clinic were significantly damaged, but repair work is already underway. However, the residents of the community, together with their children, still return to their homes.
For the residents of the Mishkovo-Pohorilivska community, there is an urgent need to ensure a stable water supply. The water tower needs to be replaced due to the leakage of the damaged tank-reservoir. There is a need for reconstruction of the paramedic-midwifery center in the village of Kapustine, because it is recognized as an emergency.
In addition to visits to communities, a meeting was held with Mykolaivovlteploenergo (municipal heat supply company) director Mykola Logvinov. We discussed the urgent needs of the company in the framework of preparation for the next autumn and winter, plans for modernization, reconstruction and transition of the Mykolaivovlteploenergo to alternative sources of heat supply in the city of Mykolaiv.
A big challenge for communities is to develop a plan for the restoration and reconstruction of destroyed objects, to determine the right priorities and, accordingly, solutions that will rationally and effectively cover the needs of the community, because in most cases the community has neither the appropriate specialists nor the resources. This is precisely the task of UST – with the help of the SMART Prioritization methodology developed by UST experts, we determine priority projects for reconstruction for each specific community, offer the most optimal solutions and help find financing.
