Artificial turf recycling in Bulgaria

Each statement: claim → public source → date → evidence label → limitation. Figures are shown separately and never added together.

• BFU / FIFA PROGRAMME INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT · official_source_verified

  Aksakovo (BFU, 29 October 2022): new mini-complex with 3 artificial-turf mini-football fields within an overall 75 × 45 m site; investment BGN 700,000 excl. VAT, funded under FIFA Forward 2.0. Project value ≠ turf value or recycling value.

  Sources: [1] bfunion.bg

• FOOTBALL TECHNICAL / LICENSING CONTEXT · official_source_verified

  BFU competition regulations recognise official use of artificial-turf pitches where the surface passes required testing and receives FIFA certification for the applicable competition. Football technical / licensing context — not environmental or recycling certification.

  Sources: [1] bfunion.bg

• BFU SUSTAINABILITY / MARKET-TRANSITION COMMITMENT (STRATEGIC TARGET) · official_source_verified

  The BFU sustainability strategy includes actions to support research aimed at reducing microplastics in artificial-pitch construction and to strive toward alternative materials in all new artificial pitches by 2026. Strategic target — not proof that every 2026 Bulgarian pitch uses alternative infill; the Madan 2026 tender still specifies SBR granules (target vs project-specific current practice).

  Sources: [1] bfunion.bg

• NATIONAL-TRAINING-CENTRE INFRASTRUCTURE EXAMPLE · official_source_verified

  The Bulgarian Football Union's national training centre at Boyana opened in 2016 with 3 football pitches: 2 natural grass and 1 artificial turf. Example only — not a national stock total.

  Sources: [1] uefa.com

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  Current verified national turf-recycling capacity: UNKNOWN. Throughput: UNKNOWN. Tyre / rubber-recycling capacity is not turf capacity, and project values (Sevlievo, Plovdiv, Aksakovo) are not recycling capacity.

• CURRENT CROSS-BORDER WASTE-TRACEABILITY CONTEXT · official_source_verified

  MOEW (2 February 2026) reminds that cross-border movements of recyclable waste must comply with national and European waste-shipment rules and require appropriate documentation. This does not establish that Bulgarian turf is currently exported.

  Sources: [1] moew.government.bg

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  National treatment split (reuse, material recycling, energy recovery, landfill / disposal, export): UNKNOWN — no chart. National destinations of turf carpet, sand, SBR / EPDM / TPE and organic infill: UNKNOWN; no national downstream route verified. Current measured EOL exports and destination countries: UNKNOWN; Greece, Romania, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands or Italy are not assumed.

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  Current measured national EOL tonnage: UNKNOWN. Current complete national annual replacement count: UNKNOWN. Current national treatment split: UNKNOWN. No Bulgaria tonnes/year model in v1.0 — historic fields are not multiplied by an assumed mass or divided by an assumed lifetime, and municipal replacement projects are not extrapolated.

• CURRENT EU / BULGARIAN REGULATORY CONTEXT · official_source_verified

  From 17 October 2031, granular polymeric infill for synthetic sports surfaces may no longer be placed on the EU market (Regulation (EU) 2023/2055, applicable in Bulgaria as an EU Member State). This is not a ban on artificial turf, existing fields do not have to close and existing SBR fields do not have to be removed in 2031.

  Sources: [1] eur-lex.europa.eu

• HISTORICAL NATIONAL GRASSROOTS INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMME · official_source_verified

  UEFA HatTrick Review 2004–2014: the first Bulgarian HatTrick project (2004) focused on 40 mini-pitches in 40 different municipalities. Historical programme — 40 mini-pitches ≠ current national stock; mini-pitch ≠ full-size pitch.

  Sources: [1] uefa.com

• ARTIFICIAL-TURF PRODUCT / DESIGN-FOR-RECYCLING ACTOR · company_reported

  Infraconcept became the official Bulgarian partner for ONE-DNA™ mono-material artificial-turf solutions (7 January 2026), described as 100% PE mono-material turf designed for easier recycling / reuse at end of life. Product-design claim — recyclable ≠ recycled; design for recycling ≠ domestic recycling infrastructure. Value chain only; not in Recycler Overview or map.

  Sources: [1] infraconcept.bg

• UEFA-BFU INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT · official_source_verified

  Kazanlak (2021): a UEFA-supported complex opened with 3 new floodlit artificial mini-pitches. Not added to the original 40 without overlap / programme clarity.

  Sources: [1] uefa.com

• CURRENT PROJECT-SPECIFIC REMOVAL / REPLACEMENT CASE — REMOVED / TRANSPORTED TO DEPOT, FINAL DESTINATION NOT VERIFIED · official_source_verified

  Madan municipality, procurement 00104-2026-0008: sports field of 2,562 m²; works include dismantling the existing sports surface, loading, transport to depot, and installation of new artificial turf with quartz-sand and SBR rubber-granulate infill. Status: removed / transported to depot — final material destination not verified; not material recycling. SBR use is project-specific during the EU transition period; no national SBR share or landfill dominance inferred.

  Sources: [1] app.eop.bg

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  NO CURRENT FIXED BULGARIAN END-OF-LIFE SYNTHETIC-TURF MATERIAL-RECYCLING FACILITY VERIFIED TO CTE PUBLIC-EVIDENCE STANDARD. Fixed turf-recycler pins: 0. Not pinned: Bulgaria Rubber Recycling (tyre recycler), Infraconcept (product actor), BFU, project sites, municipal pitches and contractor offices. 0 pins means CTE has not verified dedicated domestic turf-recycling infrastructure — not that no turf waste is handled, recycled elsewhere, exported or reused; those flows remain UNKNOWN.

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  Landscape artificial-turf stock, EOL and recycling: UNKNOWN, kept separate from football. Mini-pitches (UEFA HatTrick, FIFA Forward, municipal / school) are not equated with full-size pitches for counting or mass modelling. Rubber, polyurethane, indoor and other synthetic sports surfaces are not classified as artificial turf.

• CURRENT NEW ARTIFICIAL-TURF PROJECT · official_source_verified

  Pavlikeni (2026, Veliko Tarnovo regional administration): new combined sports field with artificial turf for small-sided football / volleyball. New build — no national aggregation of 2026 projects (Sevlievo, Plovdiv, Madan, Pavlikeni).

  Sources: [1] oblastvt.bg

• CURRENT MUNICIPAL ARTIFICIAL-TURF REPLACEMENT / FUNDING CASE · official_source_verified

  Plovdiv City Council decision 295 (2026) includes replacement of an artificial-turf surface and football goals, budget item EUR 105,500. EUR 105,500 ≠ recycling cost; final old-turf destination: not established by the source.

  Sources: [1] plovdiv.bg

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  CTE has not identified a currently active Bulgarian fixed full-field synthetic-turf recycling facility that meets the CTE public-evidence standard. Verified counts: fixed full-field 0; fixed turf-derived part-stream (carpet, fibres / backing, sand, infill) 0; fixed used-infill processors 0; mobile EOL pre-processors 0 — meaning no operator verified, not that none exist. Generic plastics or rubber recyclers, installers and product suppliers do not qualify.

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  Historical programme and project counts (HatTrick 40, Kazanlak 3, Aksakovo 3, Boyana 1) are never added into current Bulgarian stock: programme periods, pitch sizes, project scopes and replacement / operational histories differ. Current national stock: UNKNOWN.

• END-OF-LIFE TYRE RECYCLER / UPSTREAM SECONDARY MATERIAL · company_reported

  Bulgaria Rubber Recycling (active) processes end-of-life tyres through collection, transport, shredding, granulation and separation, producing SBR rubber granulate, rubber powder, tiles / slabs / rolls and other recycled-rubber products; its TYREFIELD sports systems use tyre rubber as artificial-turf loose infill or sports-field underlayer. Tyres → recycled rubber → turf infill is upstream material supply, not EOL turf recycling: contributes zero to turf recycler count, capacity, throughput and map.

  Sources: [1] bulgaria-recycling.com [2] bulgaria-recycling.com [3] bulgaria-recycling.com

• CURRENT NEW ARTIFICIAL-TURF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT · official_source_verified

  Sevlievo (9 April 2026): construction started of a new artificial-turf football field in park 'Chernichkite', overall dimensions 104 × 62 m. Municipal budget: project total EUR 1,029,567.50, advance EUR 165,050.56. New build, not an EOL replacement; project value ≠ turf-material value or recycling investment.

  Sources: [1] sevlievo.bg [2] sevlievo.bg

• CTE DATA GAP / AUDIT CONCLUSION · unknown

  Current verified national artificial-turf pitch count: UNKNOWN. Current verified national artificial-turf area: UNKNOWN. CTE has not identified a complete current Bulgarian national census; no total is built from UEFA HatTrick projects, BFU mini-pitch programmes, municipal or school fields, competition venues or individual tenders.

• NATIONAL WASTE-CLASSIFICATION FRAMEWORK / GENERAL PLASTIC CODE CONTEXT · official_source_verified

  Bulgarian waste classification is governed by Ordinance No. 2 of 2014; MOEW materials identify 17 02 03 as plastic in construction / demolition and plastic-waste contexts. A universal Bulgarian EOL synthetic-turf waste code is NOT ESTABLISHED — a system can contain PE / PP carpet, backing, sand, SBR / EPDM / TPE, organic infill and contamination, and classification depends on fraction, origin, processing stage, contamination and project-specific accounting.

  Sources: [1] moew.government.bg [2] moew.government.bg

• NATIONAL WASTE-MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK · official_source_verified

  The Bulgarian Waste Management Act (MOEW) is the national framework for waste collection, transport, recovery, recycling, disposal and permits / registration. No turf-specific facility permits are inferred.

  Sources: [1] moew.government.bg

Each URL is listed once; the claim-source links above are preserved per statement.

1. ЦАИС ЕОП — Madan procurement 00104-2026-0008 · app.eop.bg · 1 statements
2. BFU — Aksakovo mini-complex (29 Oct 2022) · bfunion.bg · 1 statements
3. BFU — Наредба — competition regulations 2023–2024 · bfunion.bg · 1 statements
4. BFU — BFU sustainability strategy · bfunion.bg · 1 statements
5. Bulgaria Rubber Recycling — About us · bulgaria-recycling.com · 1 statements
6. Bulgaria Rubber Recycling — Sports surfaces · bulgaria-recycling.com · 1 statements
7. Bulgaria Rubber Recycling — Home · bulgaria-recycling.com · 1 statements
8. EUR-Lex — Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2055 · eur-lex.europa.eu · 1 statements
9. Infraconcept — ONE-DNA new partnership (7 Jan 2026) · infraconcept.bg · 1 statements
10. MOEW — Waste Management Act · moew.government.bg · 1 statements
11. MOEW — Waste classification · moew.government.bg · 1 statements
12. MOEW — Carriers responsible for waste documents (2 Feb 2026) · moew.government.bg · 1 statements
13. MOEW — Waste-shipment requirements (Ordinance 1) · moew.government.bg · 1 statements
14. Областна администрация Велико Търново — New sports field — Pavlikeni (2026) · oblastvt.bg · 1 statements
15. Общински съвет Пловдив — Decision 295 (2026) · plovdiv.bg · 1 statements
16. Община Севлиево — Football field with artificial surface in Chernichkite (9 Apr 2026) · sevlievo.bg · 1 statements
17. Община Севлиево — Draft budget 2026 · sevlievo.bg · 1 statements
18. UEFA — Bulgaria's new footballing home opens (2016) · uefa.com · 1 statements
19. UEFA — New grassroots facility sets Bulgaria up for success (Kazanlak, 2021) · uefa.com · 1 statements
20. UEFA — HatTrick Review 2004–2014 · uefa.com · 1 statements