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Just a few kilometers from the capital, within the Integrated Management Center for Sorting, Mechanical-Biological Treatment and Waste Disposal - Vidra - Ilfov County, Eco Sud SA has been commissioned an integrated plant for mechanical-biological treatment of household waste, with the largest capacity in Europe. After an investment of tens of millions and the assiduous work of Romanian and foreign specialists for more than 3 years, the impressive machinery has been put into operation.

The waste treatment capacity is 920,000 tons and more than 60% diversion from landfill. It is the first investment in the country with renewable energy from biogas generated by waste and an installed capacity of 3.5 MW/hour. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology - magnetic separators for ferrous and non-ferrous waste, optical separators, ballistic separators and a biostabilization plant equipped with membranes and aeration system. It is an investment of an advanced technical and engineering complexity, worth approximately €50 million, carried out in compliance with European standards.

The waste treatment capacity is 920,000 tons and more than 60% diversion from landfill. It is the first investment in the country with renewable energy from biogas generated by waste and an installed capacity of 3.5 MW/hour. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology - magnetic separators for ferrous and non-ferrous waste, optical separators, ballistic separators and a biostabilization plant equipped with membranes and aeration system. It is an investment of an advanced technical and engineering complexity, worth approximately €50 million, carried out in compliance with European standards.

Waste treatment has been practiced for decades in developed countries on our continent. It is now a mandatory requirement of European environmental legislation, applied in Romania as well.

The technological process of biological treatment is based on aerobic decomposition, which consists in the biodegradation and stabilization of the organic fractions in the waste. The chosen solution is a membrane-covered system due to its advantages over the open system: reduction by up to half of the mass of the organic matter, and therefore of the total amount removed, as well as obtaining a biologically and odor-inert material.

A progressive reduction of landfill disposal is essential to prevent harmful effects on human health and the environment.

The Vidra facility was conceived as an integrated plant where waste, once introduced, is processed in such a way that it is separated into components that become raw materials for factories using these materials which enter the circular economy. A mechanical-biological treatment plant has to be fully integrated to treat the waste completely, to biostabilize it so that it no longer produces harmful environmental factors - odours, airborne particles or contaminated liquids. An integrated treatment plant also translates into lower costs for waste generators.

The facility diverts a significant amount of waste from landfill and re-introduces highly valuable materials back into the circular economy.

The Vidra investment is all the more important because, in the Bucharest-Ilfov area, there was no mechanical-biological treatment plant designed to divert from landfill and treat more than 1,000,000 tons of waste generated by the population of the Capital and Ilfov County. For example, Paris has three such waste treatment plants with a very large total capacity. Similarly, Copenhagen, Rome, and Vienna have waste treatment plants with significant capacity.

The performance characteristics of the Vidra - Ilfov plant will contribute to a reduction in the amount of waste landfilled, as well as savings for the budget of the sector's municipalities.

Under the legislation in force, the circular economy contribution and related VAT no longer have to be paid for the quantities of waste diverted from landfill. This will save local authorities more than €12 million per year. This investment also contributes to the creation of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in the related industries.

With the commissioning of Eco Sud's mechanical-biological treatment plant in Vidra, Bucharest joins the ranks of civilized capitals in Europe that manage waste intelligently.

Eco Sud SA has recognized the need to comply with the legal provisions and meet the objectives of recycling and diversion from landfill, and this facility has the capacity to treat waste from the Municipality of Bucharest and Ilfov County, thus avoiding the initiation of infringement proceedings concerning mechanical-biological waste treatment.

Furthermore, Eco Sud SA plays a crucial role in fulfilling Romania's environmental targets, as well as in diverting more than 500,000 tons of waste from landfill annually and reintroducing recyclable materials into the circular economy.