Pollution

Air quality dramatically improved in Turkey last year as people sheltered in their homes to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, says a report.

Tomasz Klech, who heads the air-monitoring lab at the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (GIOS) in Warsaw. Photo: Maria Wilczek A very Polish smog

The rate of air pollution in Istanbul decreased by 10 percent last year compared to 2019, a Turkish academic said.

With many people spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this has brought an improvement in air quality.

Lead pollution tests at a temporary migrant camp built on a former army firing range on the island of Lesvos showed no threat to safety, Greece's migration minister said on Thursday, after concerns over toxic waste were raised by rights groups.

After running into an institutional 'brick wall', they have resorted to organising creative flash mobs such as a 'masked ball', donning protective masks even before the advent of COVID-19.

Taxation can be a solution for curbing pollution, and I believe that starting from 2022 we must commit to an unequivocal decision in this regard, Environment Minister Tanczos Barna said on Monday evening on broadcaster B1TV. "If we want to curb pollution we need to see what we can do about traffic, industrial and residential pollution, and about illegal, uncontrolled incineration.

There is a very big problem in our country after the torrential rains which flooded a lot of regions across Bulgaria. And it's not about the dangerous high waters, it's about the thousands of tons of waste that rivers have dragged to the HPPs around the country. An eco-catastrophe is looming large, but this does not make an impression on the institutions at the moment.

Mytilineos on Wednesday announced its subsidiary Zeologic SA had signed an agreement with Inwaste SA for the design, supply and construction of an innovative treatment plant for hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste and sludge in Greece. 

Starting from this summer, the use of 8 types of single-use plastic products is to be prohibited throughout the European Union, including in Bulgaria, envisions a European directive that all member states must introduce and implement in their national legislation by 3 July 2021 at the latest.

The procurement of single-use plastics will end in the public sector as of February 1, 2021, Natural Environment and Waters Secretary General Constantine Aravossis said on Wednesday, in a memo to all state agencies.

The regulation voted by Parliament in October calls for an end to the procurement of 10 specific types of single-use plastics, in line with EU directives.