Sofia's city hall faces another battle of wills against the residents of the city's Suhodol suburb after Bulgaria's cabinet authorised the re-opening of the nearby dumpsite.

The dumpsite has been the main storage for the city's garbage, but has been shut down after the residents have repeatedly complained against the smell and pollution, going as far as to block the road between the neighbourhood and the site, preventing the access of the garbage trucks.

But the debate is set to start anew, with deputy environment minister Chavdar Georgiev saying on Thursday the cabinet approved the city hall's application to re-open the dumpsite.

The city hall has been using dumpsites in Plovdiv and Karlovo for the past several months, but that deal expires this month, requiring the re-opening of the Suhodol storage facility.

Suhodol has an available capacity of 480.000 cubic metres, which would take 18 months to fill, according to interim Sofia mayor Minko Gerdzhikov.

Although a short-term solution, it would help the city hall out of hot water with the EU, which has launched infringement procedures against the Bulgarian capital over its inadequate waste management infrastructure, he added.

Gerdzhikov also dismissed the demands of the residents of the Suhodol suburb, who have asked in the past that they be paid off for having to put up with the neighbouring dumpsite.

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