Vilnius residents’ support for the CHP under construction keeps growing

This year, the number of Vilnius residents supporting a CHP plant near Gariūnai has increased by 4%, while the number of those opposing it has fallen by 7% over the year. An annual population survey confirms that three quarters of the capital city residents are in favour of the plant and are looking forward to it generating at least somewhat cheaper heat.

This year, for the third year in a row, the opinion research company Spinter Research surveyed the capital city residents on waste incineration and the CHP plant under construction near Vilnius.

The attitude of Vilnius residents towards the use of waste as a fuel for energy generation remains positive: 82% are more positive or very positive about it.

The number of respondents who have a favourable view of Vilnius CHP plant increased by 4% to 76% over the year (72% in 2017), while the number of respondents who have an unfavourable view of the power plant under construction decreased by 7% to 13% in 2018.

The most common advantage of waste incineration in Vilnius is the reduction of amount of waste going to landfills in Vilnius region, with the number of those who feel this way rising by 2% to 83% this year.

There was a slight decrease (from 50% to 48%) in the number of people who think that incineration would contribute to reducing the amount of post-sorted waste in Vilnius.

37% of respondents believe that waste incineration would reduce the heating costs in Vilnius (39% thought that way in 2017).

We have to acknowledge that Vilnius residents still lack information about the plant’s construction: 10% of them said that the information is sufficient, while 80% stated that they still lack information about the plant.

In this context, a new website www.vkj.lt was developed to provide full details and news on the project.

The main source of information on waste-to-energy is the internet, said 78% of respondents. Television was reported by 60% of respondents as a source of information. They are followed by sources such as social networks (19%), radio (15%) and press (12%).

The Internet is the most preferred source of information about the waste incineration plant under construction in Vilnius (72%). Television is the second most popular one (62%). They are followed by specialised information sources (31%), social media (27%), radio (24%) and press (22%).

The opinion survey of the capital city population by Spinter Research included 1010 respondents who are over 18.