In Mykolaiv, doubts have arisen regarding the finances of a waste sorting company

In Mykolaiv, a legislative committee did not support the proposal to bring before the session the issue of designating LNK Recycling LLC as the entity responsible for sorting household waste. The deputies expressed doubts about the company’s financial viability and asked for an explanation of how it was evaluated during the bidding process.

This was discussed at a meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council’s Standing Committee on Economic and Investment Policy.

According to Igor Nabatov, director of the Department of Municipal Services, this is already the fourth tender to select a waste sorting company. The previous attempt was unsuccessful, after which city authorities formed a working group, revised the tender procedures, and coordinated them with the Antimonopoly Committee.

Under the new rules, the number of evaluation criteria was increased from seven to ten, and the maximum number of points was raised from 70 to 100. The minimum passing score is 55 points. LNK Recycling LLC received an average score of 57.9 points.

According to the company’s proposal, the facility is to be launched within 13 months. The contract is planned to be signed for 15 years, with the option to extend it for another 10 years subject to the deputies’ approval. The bidder also offered a 10% commission for securing the landfill site.

Deputy Maksym Kovalenko drew attention to the company’s financial statements. According to him, the company is registered at an address where 336 other legal entities are also listed. The deputy also stated that it is unclear from the documents provided where the company will obtain the funds to implement the project.

Kovalenko also raised questions regarding the tender committee’s evaluations. For certain criteria, committee members assigned significantly different scores, including zero and ten. The deputy also noted that the company’s documents indicated a lack of equipment, yet some committee members still awarded points for that criterion.

Nabatov replied that the tender rules do not prohibit companies from registering at mass registration addresses. He also noted that each member of the competition committee is personally responsible for the scores they assign, and that the participant had submitted financial statements and committed to funding the project.

Following the vote, the recommendation to bring the issue before the session was not supported: seven committee members voted “in favor,” one voted “against,” and three abstained. Consequently, the committee did not recommend that the city council approve the draft resolution.

Back in 2024, members of the Mykolaiv City Council approved the operating procedures for the sorting complex and began the process of selecting an investor. In January 2025, the Supreme Court ordered the city council to build a waste sorting station, and in August, the police opened a criminal investigation into possible abuses by officials.

Ірина Глухова