Purchasing prices of plastic waste have increased and this type of waste is currently sold at the highest rates, according to Georgi Slavchev, officer with procurement of Ecobulpack, a national packaging and waste recovery organization.

Slavchev, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, informed Wednesday that the restrictions to purchasing metal scrap introduced through the amendments to the Waste Management Act, as well as the increase in crude oil prices, were the main reasons behind the increase in purchasing prices of plastic waste.

He explained that the current purchasing prices were, as follows, plastic waste - around BGN 500 per tonne of top-quality plastic, followed by scrap metal - around BGN 420 per tonne, paper - around BGN 100 per tonne, and glass – around BGN 30 - 40 per tones.

Slavchev said that these tariffs made plastic an attractive item for garbage pickers.

He suggested that the practice of dumpster diving had to be treated as a theft and Bulgaria had to introduce penalties, following the example of other EU countries.

He said that one way to boost the popularity of separate collection of household waste in Bulgaria was to introduce a system of incentives and penalties.

Slavchev noted that the waste management fee was a good incentive, adding that the anonymity of waste producers was a problem.