Residents urged to inform the municipality about waste-sorting problems

One way to make the urban environment cleaner is to participate in the separate waste collection system. Since the introduction of the new waste management arrangements in May last year, the municipality has done a great deal of work in waste management, but cooperation and communication among all the parties involved have not always been sufficient.

If, for any reason, a building manager has not organised the collection of sorted waste, has not ordered sorting containers or, conversely, has removed them without justification, the Housing and Environment Department urges residents to contact the municipality by sending an email to atkritumi@riga.lv. The email should specify the address, the building manager and the type of sorted waste for which the residents would like a container to be installed.  If necessary, specialists will contact the person who submitted the information to clarify the details received.

The Housing and Environment Department’s specialists will forward information about residents’ wish to sort their waste to the waste management company serving the respective area. The company will contact the building manager, inviting them to conclude an agreement on the separate collection of sorted waste and will deliver the necessary sorting containers.

If the building manager does not respond or refuses to conclude an agreement within two to three  weeks, the Housing and Environment Department, on the basis of the information submitted by the waste management company, will request an explanation from the manager regarding the grounds for refusing to organise the collection of sorted waste.  

Binding regulations of the Riga City Council stipulate that the owner or manager of a property must be responsible for organising the collection of waste generated on the property and for informing residents about the available service. The Housing and Environment Department is currently being informed increasingly often about cases in which no solutions have been found for placing the necessary containers, particularly in neighbourhoods with high-rise residential buildings.

Author

Riga City Council Communication Department