Topical Information

Ivo Dimov, Vice-Chair of the Management Board of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NSORB) and Mayor of Dimitrovgrad, commented to BNT on the changes in the method for determining the municipal waste fee (MWF) starting in 2026.

“From next year, municipalities will, for the first time, be able to apply both methods – the traditional one based on property tax assessments, and the new ‘polluter pays’ principle, which is based on three main indicators: the amount of waste, the number of users, or the volume of waste generated,” Dimov explained.

According to him, over 95% of municipalities have chosen to retain the old methodology based on property assessments, without increasing taxes.

“This decision was explicitly requested by NSORB. The legal provisions were adopted at the very last moment, on 23 December, which required municipalities to hold extraordinary council sessions in the final working days of the year,” he added.

Dimov clarified that the introduction of the new method will result in varying levels of additional financing – minimal in some places, and around 50% in others. “I consider this normal, given the transitional period of adopting the euro. If municipalities had raised the waste fee additionally, it would have been a shock for citizens,” said the NSORB vice-chair.

He also noted that NSORB proposes a transition period from 2027 to 2029 for the full implementation of the new MWF methodology. “In some cases, the fee could increase up to 12 times. This is a responsibility not only of the municipalities. We insist that there should be a clear plan with specific steps and sufficient resources for implementation,” Dimov added.

The full interview is available on the BNT website:
https://bnt.bg/news/v-dimitrovgrad-principat-zamarsitelyat-plashta-se-otlozhi-za-poredna-godina-v406007-345287news.html