Academy of Economic Studies

Faculty of Commerce

The sanitation services in Romania

Dumitru Oana Viorela

Gr. 342

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Table of content

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….. …3
Chapter1: Chapter 1: The sanitation services in Bucharest…………………………….4
1.1. National legislation..………………………………………………………… ….. …..4

1.2. Main actors of the sanitation system from Bucharest …………….………. …………5
Chapter 2: Chapter2: Local conditions of Waste Management in Bucharest …………..6
2.1. Types of waste from Bucharest …………….....…………………………………………6
2.2. Factors that influence the sanitation status of Bucharest ………………………….…......8
Chapter3: Measures and programs for urban hygiene and waste management ………..9
Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………...11
Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………......12

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 Introduction

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is currently facing an increasing growth in population,

and shares in GDP growth, resulting in, among other things, increasing quantities of waste being
generated.
Due to varied lifestyles and consumption patterns, the quality and composition of waste
has been more varied and changing. Industrialization and economic growth has produced more
amounts of waste, including hazardous and toxic wastes.
There is a growing realization of the negative impacts that wastes have had on the local
environment (air, water, land, human health etc.)
The following project emphasizes the main sanitation problems of the city, the sanitation
legislation and tries to promote ideas for improvement. Currently, the street sanitation in
Bucharest is unsatisfactory and unaligned to the European standards. In some cases this is caused
by the inefficiency of the measures taken by local governments, but, in most cases, the
negligence and neglect of the population reflects the low level of civic education and
environmental responsibility.

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 Chapter 1: The sanitation service in Bucharest

1.1 National legislation

The Public Sanitation service is part of the community services and public utilities and is
conducted under the coordination of the local government. This service is organized to meet the
needs of citizens regarding town sanitation, and the primary objective is the protection of human
health and environment against harmful effects caused by urban waste.

Sanitation refers to the following activities1:

a) collection and transportation of housing waste, construction and demolition waste and
voluminous waste (old furniture, waste electrical and electronic equipment, etc..)
b) sorting and containment of municipal waste;
c) establishment of landfills and their administration;
d) organizing the process of waste capitalization;
e) sweeping, washing, spraying and the maintenance of public roads;
f) cleaning and transporting snow from public roads and maintaining them operational
during veneer or freezing;
g) collection of dead animals from public places
h) Disinfection and disinfestations.
Sanitation in our country is part of the environmental policies that are under the
jurisdiction of several central and local government institutions. Among the institutions with
important tasks in sanitation we can include:
 Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, as central authority for
environmental protection, coordinates and monitors waste management and, ultimately, the
sanitation of all the counties in accordance with the legislation adopted in this regard.
 Ministry of Administration Reform and Interior, which, together with local councils
and the county is mandated to ensure the legislative framework for the conduct of public
services.
 A.N.R.S.C. (National Regulatory Authority for Community Services and Public
Utilities) develops regulations on sanitation framework, monitors the enforcement and
licensing of operators in the field of sanitation, according to Law no. 51/2006

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Legea nr.101 din 25.4.2006 privind „Serviciul de salubrizare a localităţilor”, art. 2

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  Ministry of Economy and Trade – revaluation permit.
 National Authority for Public Services – licensing;
 National Environmental Guard – enforcement;
 Local authorities – work permit for operation;

1.2 Main actors of the sanitation system from Bucharest

In Bucharest, as decided by the General Council of Bucharest Municipality no. 146/2005,
the sanitation service is organized by the General Council, which establishes and approves its
development strategy, always seeking environment protection. Also, district city halls have the
task to monitor and control the manner in which the city is cleaned by private operators.
Since 1999 the sanitation system is a private-public service due to the contracts signed
between district city halls and the following operators 2: S.C. REBU S.A., for sectors 1, 4 and 5,
S.C. SUPERCOM S.A., for sector 2, S.C. ROSAL GRUP S.R.L., for sector 3, and S.C. URBAN
S.A., for sector 6.
When it comes to parks and green spaces, their maintenance and sanitation is taken by the
Public Domain Administrations.
Bucharest, the capital of Romanian is the largest urban agglomeration and is the
economic center of the country; therefore the economic agents that undergo different economic
activities have a certain responsibility when it comes to sanitation. Economic agents are required
to ensure a controlled discharge and environmental support originating from production
processes.
In addition to economic agents, population is one of the most important actors in the
process of developing and maintaining urban hygiene.
In contrast to other public utility services, such as water, electricity or gas, where there
isn’t practically a partnership with the people, sanitation services require a commitment from
citizens in the act of cleaning. Therefore it is important to educate in order to raise the awareness
of the public toward the impact of wastes over the environment.

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Dumitru Chiriac, Cristina Huma , IMPACTUL SERVICIILOR DE SALUBRITATE DIN ROMÂNIA ASUPRA CONDIŢIILOR DE
HABITAT ŞI A CALITĂŢII VIEŢII– STUDIU DE CAZ: MUNICIPIUL BUCUREŞTI

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 Chapter2: Local conditions of Waste Management in Bucharest

2.1 Types of waste from Bucharest

Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically and socially. The
composition of different wastes has varied over time and location, with industrial development
and innovation being directly linked to waste materials. Examples of this include plastics and
nuclear technology. Some components of waste have economical value and can be recycled once
correctly recovered.
Waste is sometimes a subjective concept, because items that some people discard may
have value to others. It is widely recognized that waste materials are a valuable resource, whilst
there is debate as to how this value is best realized.
Types of waste from Bucharest3:
 municipal solid waste (MSW)
 construction waste and demolition waste (C&D)
 institutional waste, commercial waste, and industrial waste (IC&I)
 medical waste (also known as clinical waste)
 hazardous waste, radioactive waste, and electronic waste
 biodegradable waste

Table 1.Types of Municipal Waste generated in Bucharest in 2007

Type of waste Year

u.m.= tons

1 Municipal waste, from which 906,450.78

1.1 Mixed household 173,812.92

1.2 Mixed assimilative waste 1,057.05

1.3 Household and assimilative 634,615.64

waste collected in separate
system (selective collection)

1.4 Green Waste 4,566.6

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste

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 1.5 Market Waste 9,621.19

1.6 Street Cleaning and Pitter 82,777.384

2 Construction and Demolition 23,577.57

Waste

TOTAL 930,028.35

Source: http://www.ejkl.ee/content/files/Atudorei.pdf
Table 9– Composition of municipal waste in Bucharest in 2007

Composition 2007

Paper and cardboard (%) 17.22

Glass (%) 7.45

Plastics (%) 14.62

Ferrous (%) 3.24

Textiles (%) 6.5

Biodegradable (%) 40.15

Inert and Others (%) 10.82

Source: http://www.ejkl.ee/content/files/Atudorei.pdf

2.2 Factors that influence the sanitation status of Bucharest

Bucharest, the capital city, industrial, cultural, and financial centre of Romania, is the
largest city in the country six times larger than Iasi ( the second largest city from Romanian). In
this context, it is easily understood that Bucharest is a major municipal waste producer
(domestic, industrial, commercial and so on) whose collection and disposal, however, raises
serious problems.
The domestic sanitation is influenced by different factors, including: number and density
of population, structure and features built space, pattern and degree of modernization of street
network, technical and public utility facilities, coverage of sanitation services and quality of
these services, the standard of living of the population, level of civilization and the civic spirit of
its people.

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 In the capital, the high agglomeration (approx. 2 million inhabitants) and the average
density (8099 loc/km2) put their mark on the state of hygiene of the city, exceeding many times
the actions of the sanitation operators. Another factor that influences the hygiene status of the
city is the urban and street configuration of the city; in many area of the capital there are
abandoned or degraded buildings with courtyards full of litter that have been transformed into
houses for homeless people. These places are literally dangerous because of the high risks of
contamination for people living close to them.
Besides the domestic sanitation, the street sanitation is another important component of
the urban hygiene. The street sanitation has the primary purpose of achieving and maintaining
the communication routes hygiene in order to raise the comfort level for the citizens. It is known
that the difference between a “clean city” and a “dirty city” is made by the appearance and status
of its streets.
A clean city depends on both, sanitation companies and the behavior and civic
responsibility of the population.
Currently, the street sanitation in Bucharest is unsatisfactory and unaligned to the
European standards. In some cases this is caused by the inefficiency of the measures taken by
local governments, but, in most cases, the negligence and neglect of the population reflects the
low level of civic education and environmental responsibility. The mentality that public places
represent literal trash beans is still perpetuated and people don’t acknowledge the negative
impacts of their actions. Bottles, plastic, papers and other types of waste that lye at every street
corner are a common image for Bucharest. In addition, current forms of street trade (kiosks or
boutiques) contribute to that image, throwing all kinds of packaging and food and vegetable
scraps.
Other causes of the precarious sanitation system:
 budgets of austerity which do not provide funds for important sectors of
environmental protection, in general, and sanitation, in particular;
 insufficient support rendered by competent state bodies to private sector;
 Insufficient actions of ecological parties and non- governmental
organizations to promote solutions and measures of cleaning, namely sanitation.
Thus, in 2004, according to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development,
the total amount of municipal waste generated in the capital (of 840,247 tones) accounted for

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12.5% of total municipal waste produced in Romania (6.710 million tons), compared to 228 049
tones in 2000, 3.5%.

Chapter 3: Measures and programs for urban hygiene and waste management

The improvement of the urban sanitation involves a good waste management which demands the
active participation of both decision-makers (public authorities and public salubrity operators) and
citizens.
Public authorities from Bucharest acknowledged the importance of suitable waste management
programs and created Municipal Waste Management Plan for the period 2007 – 2013.
The existing management system will be improved until 2013 by:
- Implementation of selective collection of household and assimilative waste;
- Construction of two sorting plants;
- Construction of one mechanical biological plant;
- Construction of two composting plants;
- Modernization of the existing landfills (landfill gas collection and recovery);
- Construction of new cells at the existing landfills (estimated surface 1 ha/year);
-construction of a treatment plant for construction and demolition waste recycles
(capacity – 80,000tons/year).
After 2013 is considered that the thermal treatment could be implemented due to the
characteristics and the composition of municipal waste in Bucharest combined with the residues
resulted from the all ready implemented treatment plants in the period 2008 – 2013.
It is necessary for district city halls to conduct periodic inspection mainly to supervise the
activity of the sanitation operators and to highlight and resolve certain problems. However,
efficient sanitation actions and programs are worthless without the lack of environmental
awareness, especially in poor and underprivileged areas.
Programs for raising citizens’ awareness regarding the environmental impact of improper
waste disposal:
- Stimulating the interest of children for waste collection.
- Highlighting and understanding the negative effects of urban waste disposal;
- Environmental education programs

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- Increasing the involvement of citizens in the collection of recyclable waste.

Conclusions

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 Currently, Romania faces an inadequate waste management, particularly urban ones, as
shown by the poor sanitation status of many urban centers. These include the largest urban
agglomeration in the country - Bucharest - where waste pollution is visible everywhere and is
caused by improper domestic and economic waste disposal.
Among the problems of the city we can mention:
1. Uncontrolled submission of household waste and construction waste and the incapacity
of authorities to deal with these wastes represent the most important sanitation problem
signaled by citizens.
2. Poor urban hygiene in low comfort areas, inhabited mostly by the poor population,
where some people have the habit of throwing garbage at random, which accumulates in
the absence of adequate sanitation.
3. Improper domestic hazardous waste disposal by throwing the garbage outside the
window, in courtyards or on terraces.
4. Uncontrolled business waste storage because of the absence of sanitation contracts.
5. Vacant lots of land become in time improvised landfills.
6. Playgrounds degradation caused by hazardous waste disposal (bottles, cans, plastics, and
construction and demolition waste) in these certain area and the lack of a quick response
from sanitation companies.
7. The need of improved sanitation services from the companies that are responsible with
street cleaning.
The solutions for the problems mentioned could be found only through a close
collaboration between decision-makers (public authorities and public sanitation operators) and
citizens.

Bibliography

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 Alexandrescu, M.A., Managementul deseurilor in Romania. Prezent si viitor, „Revista
Salubritatea”, nr 2, 2005

Dumitru Chiriac, Cristina Huma , IMPACTUL SERVICIILOR DE SALUBRITATE DIN

ROMÂNIA ASUPRA CONDIŢIILOR DE HABITAT ŞI A CALITĂŢII VIEŢII– STUDIU DE CAZ:
MUNICIPIUL BUCUREŞTI
*** Legea nr.101 din 25.4.2006 privind „Serviciul de salubrizare a localităţilor”, art. 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste

http://www.ejkl.ee/content/files/Atudorei.pdf

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