Bins, inflation and bikers in Shumen

Shumen City Council will hold an emergency session at 09:00 on 20 May to address what is now being called a looming waste-collection crisis. The single-item agenda: actions to restore normal refuse collection after the municipal fleet collapsed to just two operational trucks out of six nominally assigned to the city. Workers at the BKS enterprise have warned that bins are overflowing across residential districts and the situation is becoming a public health risk. Councillors will meet without remuneration, a detail local media emphasised as a signal of the session's urgency. The last round-up covering the crisis ran on 14 May, when a BKS worker told Shumen Online that one truck had just broken down and another was awaiting parts.

Bulgaria's annual inflation stood at 6.8% in April, with a monthly rate of 1.8%, according to the National Statistical Institute. The April figure is the highest monthly rise since February. Cumulative inflation since the start of 2026 is 3.7%, and the average annual rate over the past 12 months is 5.1%. The 6.8% rate places Bulgaria well above the eurozone average and comfortably ahead of price growth in the UK. British expats in Shumen drawing UK pensions or rental income will see their euro-equivalent purchasing power eroded if the trend holds through the summer.

Shumen motorcyclists joined a nationwide protest yesterday over what riders describe as a drastic and unjustified increase in compulsory third-party liability insurance premiums. Both Shumen Online and TV Shumen reported the action. Riders gathered on Rishki Prohod Boulevard before a group peeled off to join a larger demonstration in Ruse. The Shumen contingent then blocked the main Burgas-bound road at the junction for the village of Ivanski. The protest was part of a coordinated national mobilisation by motorcycle clubs across Bulgaria, all citing the same grievance: premiums have risen sharply without a corresponding increase in claims payouts or accident rates. TV Shumen noted that the blockage caused delays on one of the region's key commercial routes.

The Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIOSV) conducted an emergency inspection at a depot in the Divdyadovo district following complaints circulated on social media. The inspectorate confirmed it had found violations, though the source body provided no detail on the nature of the breaches or what remedial action has been ordered. RIOSV's intervention follows a pattern of reactive enforcement prompted by public reports rather than scheduled audits. Divdyadovo, a northeastern district of Shumen, is home to a mix of light industrial sites and residential blocks.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has accused seven companies of operating cartels in two separate proceedings. The first concerns hospital food supply contracts, the second the provision of mining and construction machinery. Both investigations allege that firms coordinated bids in public procurement processes, suppressing genuine competition. The Commission has not named the companies at this stage, nor provided details of which hospitals or construction projects were affected. The cases are now in the formal accusation phase, with hearings to follow.