If you have started renovating your home, but you don't know what to do with the waste left behind, it is good to know that it is forbidden to abandon it or store it on the public or private domain of the local public administration authority.
The place for construction waste is not at the collection platforms Photo: Pitesti City Hall
There are several rules for the disposal of construction and renovation waste. The most important thing is that the debris cannot be thrown at the collection platforms together with household waste. Whoever does this is liable to a fine.
Waste of this type is collected for a fee by the sanitation operator or by a specialized company, at the request of the beneficiary.
And the prices differ from one company to another. For example, Salubritate 2000 SA, the operator of the sanitation service from Pitesti, has a single rate of 118.58 lei/m3 for waste from homes, generated by their interior and/or exterior remodeling and rehabilitation activities.
People used to store bags full of debris in garbage bins or illegally dump them in the outskirts of the town or on the banks of rivers. The law says you are prohibited from doing so. Thus, you risk receiving a fine much higher than the cost of their legal disposal, from the Local Police/Territorial Administrative Unit, as the case may be, or from the Environmental Guard.
The fine can range from 1,000 lei to 1,500 lei for individuals and from 2,000 lei to 2,500 lei for legal entities according to the measures established by the Local Council Decision, as is the case in Pitesti, but the sanctions differ from one locality to another.
However, construction and demolition waste is still being stored in an uncontrolled manner at municipal waste collection platforms. “There are such cases every day“, states Romi Becheanu, the general director of Salubritate 2000 SA from Pitesti.
Huge fines awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency
Also, according to Government Emergency Ordinance no. 92/2021 regarding the waste regime, much more drastic sanctions are provided. Thus, it is forbidden to abandon waste, dispose of it outside the spaces authorized for this purpose or burn it.
These acts constitute a contravention and are sanctioned by the National Environmental Guard with a fine between 30,000 and 45,000 lei for natural persons, respectively between 50,000 and 70,000 lei for legal entities.
Also, depending on the case, the measure regarding the confiscation of the vehicle used to transport the waste can be ordered.
And the high value of the fine scares people. “They started to fear sanctions…“, says Alexandru Vâjan, chief commissioner of the Argeș Environmental Guard.
According to the law, in the case of the construction/decommissioning authorization, issued by the competent institutions, its holder has the obligation to have a waste management plan from such activities.
The plan provides for the establishment of sorting systems for waste from construction and demolition activities, at least for wood, mineral materials – concrete, brick, sandstone and ceramics, stone, metal, glass, plastic and plaster for their recycling/reuse on site, to the extent that it is economically feasible, it does not affect the environment and construction safety.
