Sofia City Council adopted stricter mechanism for improving air quality in Sofia

Sofia City Council on November 14 adopted a new mechanism for improving air quality in the capital. City councillors from the group We Continue the Change -Democratic Bulgaria and Save Sofia defended before their colleagues a report that for the first time includes fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) as an indicator of pollution, as these particles are considered more dangerous to health than PM 10. The report follows current World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, allowing Sofia to not only catch up with current clean air policies, but to lead them.

"In the first year of this Sofia City Council term, one of the most debated and intense topics was the increase of the number of colour-coded containers in Sofia. The goal of the initiative was to provide more recycling opportunities for both the public and businesses. Despite the obvious benefits of the proposal, the GERB councillors held lengthy discussions with vague and abstract arguments that seemed to be aimed at causing chaos and sabotaging the initiative. Thanks to the support of the other colleagues from the city council, the report was nevertheless adopted and from 2025 Sofia will have three times more containers for separate collection."

"This is what has happened now with the mechanism to improve air quality in our city. Despite the obvious need for these measures, GERB councillors have again initiated lengthy discussions and insisted on delaying the report without proposing any real improvements. It seems that their only aim was to reap political dividends, even if this put the health of the citizens of Sofia at risk. Despite their attempts at sabotage, the report was supported by the majority in the city council and so Sofia now has new policies to improve air quality in the city. I thank my colleagues from other political groups who supported the report with high demands on ourselves for the health of our fellow citizens," one of the sponsors Dimitar Petrov from WCC-DB-SS told journalists.