Changes to the rules stipulate that multi-apartment residential house managers will be obliged to ensure the sorting of bio-waste to multi-apartment residential homes with more than 10 apartments and municipal waste generators operating at one of the stages of the food supply chain. The requirement for the installation of biowaste containers will enter into force on March 1 2024.
The requirements apply to multi-apartment residential homes that have more than 10 apartments and will not be able to perform composting. For multi-apartment residential homes with fewer than 10 apartments and private homes, installing bio-waste containers will remain voluntary.
A fee has been set for the management of bio-waste, which was 80% of the unsorted municipal waste management fee in 2023, but is 60% as of January 1 2024. By actively starting the sorting of bio-waste, it is predicted that unsorted waste containers will not fill up so rapidly, which will result in residents being able to reduce both container volumes and the frequency of garbage collection, thus reducing the cost, the municipality said.
Riga City Council and three waste management companies have jointly established a common waste sorting guide for the convenience of residents in Riga. The guide is available on the local government's website here (in Latvian).
