The Garbage Blockade of Lviv

After the fire at the Hrybovychi landfill in Lviv Oblast (May 28 – 30, 2016), Lviv faced the problem of waste removal.

On June 12, 2017, the Lviv city emergency commission made an official decision on the need to declare Lviv a zone of environmental emergency. A corresponding appeal was sent to the government, the National Security and Defence Council, the president and the Lviv Regional State Administration.

According to the Lviv mayor's office, the amount of uncollected waste as of June 2017 reached a critical level, as the surrounding solid waste landfills refuse to accept Lviv garbage trucks. In recent days, residents have also increasingly blocked streets, protesting in this way against the failure to remove garbage from outside their homes.

Every day the amount of uncollected waste in the city grew by 200 tonnes. Because of the accumulated garbage, Lviv faced a record-high risk of an outbreak of intestinal infections.

What is known about the waste processing plant in Lviv? 

The city authorities promised to build a waste processing plant in Lviv. 

In 2020, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), after a court case, recognised the Polish company Control Process S. A. as the winner of the tender. It began building the plant. 

In April 2026, the Lviv city authorities announced that they had terminated the contract with the Polish firm due to the contractor Process S. A.'s prolonged and systematic failure to fulfil its obligations. 

Lviv announced a new tender and plans to complete the plant with a new contractor.