What is the situation with the debris management in the Kyiv region?
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).
