Ukraine’s western city of Lviv is famous for its picture-postcard graceful domes and cobblestone streets but it’s not such a pretty sight in the back alleys, which are blighted by growing mountains of garbage.
Waste has not been removed from some neighbourhoods in the city of 700,000 people since May, with the stench scaring off tourists and a rat infestation threatening public health.
The trash piles have built up due to an apparent political impasse between the Ukrainian government and the local authorities.
Kiev accuses Lviv’s mayor of failing to handle waste management but the mayor blames the crisis on a “garbage blockade”.
Last month, locals took action into their own hands, blocking city streets to protest against the situation.
Lviv resident Mariya Sydorovych, 58, said that despite summer heat of more than 30 degrees Celsius, she does not dare open the windows.
“We have garbage cans near the playground. Children have not been playing there for weeks, because they cannot stand it.”
Doctors share residents’ concerns about the possible deterioration of the health of the city’s inhabitants.
“If we do not ensure removal of garbage from Lviv in time, we could face dangerous consequences for the health of Lviv residents,” Volodymyr Zub, the city council’s health department chief, said.
While locals accuse city authorities of causing the crisis, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said it was impossible to move the rubbish out of the city because of a “garbage blockade”.
He said the problem started in May 2016 when the main landfill for Lviv’s waste caught fire and four firefighters died, prompting state authorities to shut down the site.
He also accused the government of pressuring landfill owners across the country not to accept refuse from Lviv in order to discredit him not just as mayor, but also as leader of the Samopomich political party.
Sadovyi was once an ally of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko but Samopomich (Self-Reliance) left the president’s ruling coalition bloc last year, joining the opposition.
The conflict reached a new level last month as three lawmakers from Sadovyi’s party went on a six-day hunger strike to put more pressure on Kiev to solve the problem.
That pushed Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to urge the country’s municipal authorities to help the western city by accepting the city’s garbage at their landfill sites. Groysman said the government was willing to allocate $1.9 million for constructing a new landfill. — AFP
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