Moldova receives recycling, waste infrastructure funding

The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it is providing a 25 million euros ($26.8 million) loan to the government of Moldova to finance “critical investments in its solid waste management infrastructure and to address pressing environmental challenges.” The loan is part of a wider financing package that includes another 25 million euros from the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) "as well as investment grants from international donors,” according to the EBRD.

The loans are intended to fund several types of waste and recycling infrastructure, including materials sorting and recycling plants, waste and recycling containers and collection vehicles and a landfill that meets EU standards.

“The project is the first large-scale undertaking in the solid waste management sector in Moldova involving multiple regions and an important step towards a sustainable solution for solid waste management services,” EBRD says.

The organization says its investment will support improvements in the solid waste management system of three waste management zones identified under Moldova’s Solid Waste Management Strategy.

“The EBRD’s investment will enable the government of Moldova to deliver an improved and more efficient municipal waste collection, covering not only urban centers but rural areas as well,” EBRD writes.

In a region that includes the Ungheni, Nisporeni and Calarasi districts in Moldova, funds will be directed toward the construction of a regional sanitary landfill in accordance with EU standards; the closure of uncompliant landfills and many smaller unauthorized dump sites; and investments in source separated recyclables, green waste and mixed waste treatment facilities.