Voluntary Waste Collection Centers (VWC) will be built in Calarasi and Ungheni, while the city of Leova will receive financial and technical support for the implementation of a project to create such a center.
These three localities were selected following a competition held in December 2025, in which 12 localities from all over the country participated.
CDSOs represent an important component in the development of a modern, efficient and responsible waste management system, contributing both to the protection of the environment and to the improvement of the quality of life and promotion of a sustainable lifestyle.
“For Ungheni municipality, the construction of the voluntary waste collection point is another important step towards the creation of a sustainable city, capable of resisting climate change and prioritizing environmental protection. Thanks to this project, we will continue to develop the waste management system, especially since we already have good experience in this field. At the same time, it is an indispensable element of the integrated waste management system in Zone 5, of which Ungheni is a part. We, both the authorities and the whole community, want to have an increasingly modern waste management system in line with European standards, and the designation of Ungheni as a site for the construction of a voluntary waste collection point pleases us,” said Vitalie Vrabie, Mayor of Ungheni.
What kind of waste will be collected
The aim of the initiative is to develop and modernize the integrated municipal waste management system at the city level, which will have a direct impact on the environment and the well-being of citizens. At the initial stage, the automated waste collection points will collect: bulky waste (mattresses, furniture), end-of-life products such as electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators, glass packaging, wood, paper and cardboard waste, used textiles, used tires, plastic packaging (PET) and metal packaging (aluminum cans).
Each center will be equipped with special containers for each category of waste to ensure organized and efficient collection. All waste will be handed over to authorized companies, which will subsequently ensure its recycling or disposal.
The automated waste collection points in Ungheni and Calarasi will be integrated into the regional waste management system, which is currently being implemented in Waste Management Zone No. 5, of which these two localities are part.
The start of construction works is planned for spring 2027, and commissioning of the centers is expected in autumn of the same year.
In partnership with the operators of EPR
The construction of voluntary collection points is carried out in the context of the application of waste management legislation. The local authorities are responsible for establishing an efficient collection system and providing the necessary conditions for separate collection, transportation, recycling and final disposal of waste in a phased manner.
Authorities may also partner with collective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems to develop additional waste collection services from EPR regulated products such as electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators or packaging.
To establish an integrated municipal waste management system, local authorities should ensure that the necessary land is allocated and that at least one voluntary waste collection point for every 50,000 inhabitants is established for the collection and treatment of specific types of waste.
Well-forgotten old
Similar initiatives have been launched many times in Moldova, but none of them are currently working.
For example, in 2019, 80 collection points for waste electrical and electronic equipment (including batteries within the framework of the project “Clean City with recycled e-waste”) were opened in Chisinau. One such point was even installed under the EU flags at the entrance to the Stefan cel Mare Park.
Another eight mobile containers for bulky e-waste were installed at gas stations in the capital.
The initiative worked for about two years and then quietly died.
A more recent example: in 2024, 15 collective extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems were formed. For this purpose, importers of household appliances, batteries, tires and motor oils, as well as some other goods, transferred about 100 million lei. However, for example, it is now impossible to hand over a broken microwave oven in Chisinau.
Just last week, one of the largest companies selling household appliances told the author that “we used to accept such things, but now we do not”.
That is, there is a real situation that another 1.8 million euros of European money will be wasted again.
