A project for the construction of a regional municipal waste treatment facility near the village of Rakitnitsa, Stara Zagora district, has been launched.

However, the project will be stopped after the sod-turning ceremony until it gets its EU funding restored, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Outgoing Environment Minister Stanislav Anastasov announced Tuesday that he expected a total of BGN 70 – 100 000 in EU funding to be restored under the "Environment" Operational Program as of August 1 so that the Bulgarian municipalities implementing projects under the program could make payments.

The construction of a regional waste treatment facility was delayed by nearly 5 years due to the lawsuits initiated by locals of Rakitnitsa against the project.

The facility is to cost BGN 52 M, with BGN 42 M to be supplied under the "Environment" Operational Program.

Rakitnitsa Mayor Zhivko Todorov and Stanislav Anastasov backed the project, saying that it was "part of a resource-efficient economy."

During Tuesday's sod-turning ceremony, locals staged a protest near the site of the plant.

Todorov made clear that the authorities had repeatedly assured locals that there was nothing to worry about, stressing that the technology used during the construction works and the waste treatment technology was not dangerous.

He went on to declare that the waste treatment plant would cause people to start thinking of waste as a resource.

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