What is the situation with debris management in the Chernihiv region?
Management of debris is an integral part of the future recovery process of Ukraine. The ReThink NGO, which is part of the UST coalition, has begun work on investigating the situation on the ground and developing recommendations for debris management.
General situation in the region
According to community reports provided to the Regional Military Administration, more than 14,000 tons of debris accumulated in the Chernihiv region. Nataliya Grudnytska, director of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, says the figures cannot be considered accurate, because the assessment of the volume of waste from destruction is mostly done visually:
“The border area of Chernihiv region is constantly under fire, the scale of the destruction there is practically incalculable, in some places it is impossible. This debris remains on the ground. Before the adoption of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No1073 dated 27.09.2022, people who dismantled destroyed housing themselves took this waste to general landfills. Some communities used it to fill roads or in the construction of defense structures. Currently, three temporary debris storage sites have been created in the region by the order of the head of the Chernihiv Regional Administration.”
Therefore, it is very important at the state level to propose a mechanism for accounting for the amount of demolition waste according to its type.
“When we understand where and how many types of debris have been generated, it will be easier to plan the necessary infrastructure for its processing. After all, it is important to use the current crisis to obtain a resource for new materials, and not to spoil the fertile land with waste”, – says the head of the UST coalition Olena Koltyk.
Experience of communities
Novoselivka, which is part of the Kiselyivska community and borders the regional center, suffered large-scale destruction. The frontline passed through the village: 148 houses were destroyed, and 317 were damaged. Dismantling of the destroyed houses is carried out by the owners of the houses, and various volunteer and donor organizations. However, the dismantling process is complicated by obtaining expert and technical reports and other issues of registration of property ownership and receiving compensation for destroyed property.
Debris is tried to be sorted immediately, as this is a legal requirement. Everything that can be reused: iron, brick, and wooden structures that survived, at the request of the owner of the house, are left on the adjacent territory. Harmful to the environment and human health, asbestos-containing materials and mineral insulation are stored hermetically and separately. Unsuitable for secondary use in construction bricks and reinforced concrete structures are taken to a designated place for temporary debris storage. In the future, they will be used by the community. However, not everyone complies with the established requirements, and often debris is found in unauthorized places.
The Kyinka community, which is located in the suburbs of Chernihiv, immediately used the debris to fill unpaved streets. During active hostilities, 68 houses were destroyed here, says community head Andriy Golovach. Most of them have already been dismantled, and those buildings that remained unfinished are now being dismantled with the help of donors.
“Oversized concrete and bricks, which cannot be immediately put on the roads, are taken to a place of temporary storage. We need the equipment to process the demolition waste that is stored there. A crusher is something that neither we nor other communities need permanently. One per region – it would be great, we would form a queue and process everything that is needed.”, – Andriy Golovach notes.
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).
