Ecoservice's renovated waste sorting center is most modern in Baltics - CEO

VILNIUS - Ecoservice's waste sorting center in Vilnius, rebuilt and upgraded for 18 million euros after being damaged by a fire 1.5 years ago, is the most modern facility of its kind in the Baltics, Jurgita Radzeviciene, the company's CEO, said on Tuesday.

"We have not only rebuilt what we lost, but we've created something more (...) - infrastructure that helps tackle the challenges of the circular economy," she said at the sorting center's opening event.

Environment Minister Povilas Poderskis said, "The center shows our shared approach to how things should be managed. We too often criticize ourselves for not managing well, but today we can say that we are managing."

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas expressed hope that with the increased waste processing capacity, the culture of waste sorting among the city's residents will improve as well.

According to Ecoservice, the center, located near Gariunai, features state-of-the-art sorting equipment, including nine optical separators and artificial intelligence, as well as a fire safety system that can fill the entire production area with foam in just 10 minutes.

The fire that broke out on August 5, 2023, destroyed the company's building, waste sorting equipment, and part of its inventory.

The company, which is controlled by Eco Baltia, the largest environmental and waste management group in the Baltics, is seeking 13.55 million euros in compensation from Compensa Vienna Insurance Group in a Latvian court.