When Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 22, 2024, Western nations supported Ukraine with military and financial aid. But over two years, the cost of the war has been devastating—not only in terms of lives lost, and injuries sustained, but also in the number of buildings destroyed. According to some estimates, more than 150K structures have been damaged in the conflict.

What that means is a lot of debris, and managing it is a complex and expensive task wherever such destruction occurs. In 2005, the removal of debris created by Hurricane Katrina cost $2.2 billion and took more than 18 months to complete. Debris removal in Port au Prince, Haiti, resulting from the 2010 earthquake took more than 5 years and cost $1 billion. Japan’s Great Eastern Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 reportedly cost $200 billion and the project is still in progress. Managing debris is clearly on Ukraine’s critical path to restoration.

As specialists working at Ceres Environmental Services (Ceres)—a US company specializing in natural disaster debris management—we have an interest in helping Ukraine with its recovery from war. When we attended the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in Lugano in July 2022, where Ukraine’s Green Reconstruction was a major topic, our experience told us that this nation’s debris removal process would be challenging, requiring expertise and care to avoid harming people and the environment. We also noted that both the government of Ukraine (GoU) and the donor community might not fully appreciate the scale and complexity of that task.

Two subsequent visits to Ukraine by members of our team in 2023 to meet with various stakeholders and share our knowledge and experience left us more convinced about the scope of the task. We observed firsthand that the debris situation in Ukraine bore similarities both to Gaza’s situation and the earthquake site in Kahramanmaraş Türkiye (which we also visited last year). Indeed, what makes the Ukraine situation more challenging is the presence of unexploded ordnance/explosive remnants of war (UXO/ERW) in that country.

The Debris in Ukraine’s Way

Debris management is logistically complex. In Ukraine, we observed several factors contributing to the problem:

First there is the scale of the challenge. Both Ukraine’s government and the donor community lack an understanding of both the nature and extent of the damage. Small-scale studies have been performed, and the Kyiv School of Economics database provides self-reported information. Yet there has been no systematic estimate of the damage to assess the overall debris volume. Without this, it is impossible to forecast what will be necessary for its removal.

The  widespread problem of UXO/ERW is another factor. There are anecdotal reports of death or injury when people accidentally set off UXO/ERW as they try to salvage personal effects. Even before removing debris, structures must be assessed for UXO/ERW, and made safe where required. While the GoU has started mine removal in agricultural areas, a different approach will be needed for structures.

Assessing human health impacts is also an essential piece of the puzzle. When our staff visited Hostomel on Ceres’ first trip, we observed that the small-scale debris removal accomplished in places like Hostomel and Irpin did not address potential human health impacts. A photo we took in Hostomel in May 2023 (right) shows a crawler demolishing a multi-story apartment building. Ceres personnel were concerned by the lack of site access control, dust control, and personal protective equipment for the workers. Since asbestos was commonly used in construction until around 2010, it is possible that both workers and neighbors are being subjected to airborne asbestos—a known carcinogen.

Both the external funding agency involved (UNDP) and the GoU require appropriate waste management practices. Yet this requirement appears to be more honored in the breach—as another photo taken in Hostomel (below) suggests. This scene is reminiscent of what are known as “gypsy dumps.” The surface is neither compacted nor impermeable, and the waste has been in place there for a while. The tree line at the back borders a stream where effluent discharges. Household hazardous waste is present in every apartment and home, and there is no evidence of its removal before disposal. This suggests that the waste likely will be discharged to the nearby stream.

A final concern is Ukraine’s low recycling rate. Like many post-Soviet countries, recycling (other than for metals) is not ingrained in the national culture. Currently, there are some small-scale projects to create higher-value concrete rubble for use in cement manufacture that will result in less CO₂ generated and less new resource extraction. However, this is still very much at the pilot stage. We believe that there are significant recycling opportunities, not only for concrete, but for electronics, white goods (refrigerators, stoves, and other appliances), vehicles, and other debris. 

The Dangers of Not Getting It Right

Compared to the European Union, Ukraine’s regulatory environment is weak. This offers many chances to skirt or ignore requirements with little concern for any possible sanctions. This image taken in Hostomel at the municipal solid waste landfills (MSWL) in July 2023 (right) offers a good example. The government of Ukraine has been clear that debris is not to be deposited in MSWLs, but the photo shows differently. Ceres team members observed no waste sorting, which strongly indicates that household hazardous wastes (including bleach, mercury- and lithium-containing batteries, acids, and organic solvents) are likely being deposited here. Accelerated use of MSWLs will require additional landfill construction and potential new taxes, and the hazardous waste likely contaminating them could have long-term detrimental effects on human health and the environment.

Debris removal work already underway is likely to have significant impacts on both human health and the environment. At individual sites, the lack of access control, appropriate worker health and safety, and dust control will create higher morbidity and mortality levels for both workers and neighbors. Children could be injured, and there is an overall potential for increased levels of asbestos exposure. At the environmental level, household and other hazardous wastes in the debris stream will enable discharges that will lead to impacts on water quality and local biota, not to mention people. It also is likely that local landfills will close sooner than planned, requiring as-yet unplanned funding.

Graft is a final concern. There will be thousands of contracts for the restoration, including debris management. Without an understanding of the nature and extent of the debris, along with well-written scopes, and oversight, contractors will be able to obfuscate charges and skimp on proper implementation, including worker health and safety.

Doing a Better Job Managing Debris

Debris management must have well-thought-out (and enforced) procedures, processes, and systems (PPS). The State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (SARDI), established by the government of Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure in 2022, is well-placed to lead such development.

SARDI has already taken one significant step by developing the Digital Restoration EcoSystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) app. DREAM is a digital pipeline for reconstruction projects to ensure transparent and efficient implementation. SARDI also has worked extensively with ProZorro (Ukraine’s web-enabled procurement system) ensuring it is capable of supporting the anticipated work volume.

Another possible improvement would be for the GoU consider establishing framework contracts for debris management that allow pre-qualification and then deploying generic and tightly-written scopes of work for proposal requests that link to specific geographies and include the nature and extent of debris volume.

Improved recycling is also essential. But increasing the volume of recycled materials from debris will require new markets, new standards, and regulations for recycled materials. And, finally, an extensive communications program must be created so Ukrainians understand how and where debris management work is being implemented. The DREAM app certainly offers a path to such a system.

Significant Returns on Best Practices

The return on investment from establishing PPS in Ukrainian debris management is likely to be significant. SARDI’s investment in DREAM is a significant step towards establishing a universal system to communicate project information across the nation. It will, eventually, also ensure the maximum transparency possible in all restoration activities.

Determining the nature and extent of the debris field in Ukraine also will help to define the work required. This will include estimates of the total debris load and the extent of hazardous waste, as well as planning and implementing UXO/ERW removals, identifying the potential for recycling, and planning actual debris removal and transport.

Framework contracts for debris management will allow a large volume of firms to pre-qualify. Identifying and linking specific tasks to geographies where debris volume and nature have been estimated will minimize the opportunity for graft—and also increase the speed at which projects can be procured.

Establishing broader recycling markets will create additional jobs, decrease CO₂ emissions, and increase the efficiency of building material access. The jobs will contribute to enhanced tax recovery while locally purchasing materials minimizes imports. CO₂ emissions credits also can contribute to the national coffers.

The challenges are great, Ukraine must plan for restoring almost a third of the country as it continues to fight a devastating war. Its government’s decision to use this challenge as an opportunity to make the restoration green is to be applauded. Yet any new program that is established without developing and implementing the PPS required to manage war debris will likely to suffer significant setbacks.