Skopje to receive first new waste containers next week, mayor announces

Skopje's mayor and head of the Association of Units of Local Self-Government (ZELS), Orce Gjorgjievski, announced that the first delivery of new waste containers will arrive next week, alongside additional collection vehicles and transfer stations intended to ease the capital's sanitation problems.

New containers next week; first replacement buses due by year-end

Gjorgjievski said the City of Skopje secured two transfer stations and three trucks through municipal arrangements, and that the incoming containers and equipment should reduce visible street rubbish across the city.

“In the coming week we will receive the first batch of new containers, and we also provided two transfer stations and three more trucks which we secured ourselves through the City of Skopje,” Gjorgjievski said, underlining the municipality's role in the procurement.

He added that procurement of new buses is ongoing: the first vehicles are expected to arrive by the end of the year and should help reduce crowding in the ageing fleet that currently serves the city.

At the same meeting Gjorgjievski addressed recent social-media complaints about rats appearing in public spaces. He said he sent a letter to municipal administrations instructing them to carry out deratization in their jurisdictions and that he would raise the topic again in upcoming meetings.

City leaders also discussed public-health concerns in the eastern region—notably outbreaks of varicella (chickenpox)—improvements in preschool and kindergarten conditions, and plans for a unified national rulebook on urban equipment that would standardize street furniture and containers across municipalities.

The announcements came during a regular gathering of mayors representing municipalities across the country, where local officials reviewed a range of municipal challenges and coordination measures.

Photo: press material from the event