Ostrava, Czech Republic, has announced increased waste disposal and processing fees. This change, the first since 2005, will see residents paying 720 korunas instead of the current 498 korunas from next year. The fee increase, however, will not affect seniors and children, who will continue to pay the current rate.
Initially, the increase was slated to take effect this year. However, the city administration chose to maintain the status quo for 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic, high inflation, rising energy costs, food, and other essentials.
The waste fee ordinance approved two years prior will only be implemented starting January 1, 2024. This means the city is moving from 498 Korunas to 720. However, some groups have relief. These include children up to six years and seniors aged 65 and above. They will continue to pay 498 korunas,” explained Deputy Mayor of Ostrava, Lucie Baránková Vilamová (ANO).
Despite the increase, Ostrava remains among the cities with a lower waste fee. The municipality subsidizes the waste disposal cost by approximately 500 korunas per resident per year. “The total amount that the city subsidizes for its inhabitants on waste is 150 million korunas annually. We can’t rule out that we may have to increase this fee in the coming years,” the deputy mayor added.
The city has seen its costs rise year-on-year, partly due to introducing a new sorting line. This automatic sorting line for mixed municipal waste, the first of its kind in the Czech Republic, was launched this year by Ostrava waste company OZO Ostrava. The main reason for the 280-million-koruna investment was to divert recoverable waste from landfills in preparation for the planned ban on landfilling mixed municipal waste, which is set to take effect in 2030.