Parliament's environment committee has backed changes to the Waste Management Act proposed by Bozhidar Bozhanov, voting for them at second reading.

MPs rejected a proposal to scrap the product fee on motor vehicles. The bill covers waste management, product fees and the firms that work in the sector. Parliament passed it at first reading on 2 September.

The approved text also includes a proposal by Petar Petrov of Vazrazhdane. Under it, waste operators must keep extra records. These cover how waste moves between holders and sites, and who transported and treated it. Operators must also record the amount and type of raw materials, materials, products and waste prepared for reuse after treatment. This widens the range of data that is collected.

In the bill's explanatory notes, its authors say they want to change the rules for recovery organisations and for firms that meet their waste duties themselves. They also want to cut red tape.

Deputy environment minister Kostadin Geshev said the bill does not come from the Council of Ministers or the ministry. It has not gone through public consultation, he said, which is where the pros and cons of such texts are weighed. The ministry backs the ideas of openness, less red tape and tighter oversight. But Geshev said the subject is complex, and that openness and less red tape to some extent conflict with preventive oversight.

The ministry is preparing its own bill with a completely different approach to how recovery organisations work. Geshev said its proposals could go out for public consultation by the end of the month.