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Waste management in Russia

Waste management in Russia refers to the legislation, actions and processes pertaining to the management of the various waste types encountered throughout the Russian Federation. The basis of legal governance for waste management in Russia at the federal level is outlined through Federal Law No. 89-FZ, which defines waste as “the remains of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, other articles or products that have been formed in the process of production or consumption as well as the goods (products) that have lost their consumer properties” (Russian Federation, 1998).

Throughout its existence, the Government of the Soviet Union introduced state-wide legislative frameworks and recycling programs for effective waste management in the pursuit of a circular economy to reduce new material production (Ermolaeva, 2018). However, the dissolution of the Soviet Union consequently erased these initiatives, yielding the onset of a Post-Soviet Russia largely dependent upon landfills for waste management (Fedotkina et al., 2019). In 2019, over 70 million tonnes of municipal solid waste was produced in Russia, with over 90% of this amount deposited in landfills (Martus, 2020). The Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage stated in 2021 that landfills in Russia occupied an area roughly equivalent to the size of the Netherlands (Semenova, 2021).

In line with growing political and social pressures attributed primarily to the inadequate management of municipal solid waste across the country in the past two decades (Singh et al., 2021), the Government of Russia introduced widespread rubbish reforms in 2018 under the national project “Ecology”, which is due for completion in 2024 (Martus, 2020).  

History

Soviet Union (1922 - 1991)

Enacting large-scale industrial production was a central focus of the Government of the Soviet Union (Ziegler, 2004). To maximally preserve the supply of raw materials, the reuse of these products was heavily emphasised through the establishment of state-run organisation and collection services. Widescale recycling programs were introduced by the Soviet Government in the 1970s, whereby recyclable materials were sorted into five distinct categories: “waste paper, polymeric materials, tires, textiles, and broken glass” (Fedotkina et al., 2019). It was estimated that almost 30% of total waste paper production and 45% of all glass bottles were recycled in the 1980s (Fedotkina et al., 2019).

In 1986, the Government of the Soviet Union introduced the concept of extended producer responsibility to hold state organisations accountable for their waste production through a legislative framework (Fedotkina et al., 2019). The legislative framework mandated that organisations must provide adequate processing facilities and recycling operations to accommodate the output of any new materials or products.

Due to the widespread philosophy of waste material repurposing and stringent legislative frameworks witnessed across the state, waste management was not observed as a significant issue throughout the existence of the Soviet Union (Sim et al., 2013). The dissolution of the Soviet Union saw the collapse of the various waste management systems that contributed to the state’s efforts in developing a circular economy.

Russian Federation (1991 - Present)

The newly formed Russian Federation sought to instigate mass reform in the waste management sector in an effort to revive the success of the governance witnessed within the Soviet Union. In 1996, a federal waste reform program called “Waste” was launched and funded by the Russian Government, which sought to “create a regulatory and technological framework to conduct a unified government policy regarding waste management at every administrative level” (World Bank Group, 2013). Additional goals of the program included a structured national recycling initiative and the pilot testing of emerging technologies for improved recycling and decontamination efficiency for both municipal and industrial waste. Projected funding from

Subsequently, a new law administered by the Ministry for Natural Resources and Ecology at the federal level was introduced in June 1998, known as Federal Law No. 89-FZ “On the Production and Consumption Waste” (Martus, 2020). The law defined waste as “the remains of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, other articles or products that have been formed in the process of production or consumption as well as the goods (products) that have lost their consumer properties” (Russian Federation, 1998).

Waste production

Russia generates around 5-7 billion tons of waste annually (Fedotkina et al, 2019). Of these, 66%

Industrial Waste

Industrial activities comprise more than half of waste emission in Russia (Fedotkina et al, 2019; Zakharenko et al, 2021). Mining accounted for 94.3% of waste in 2018, producing the most waste of all economic activities. The main pollutants were from the extraction of fuel and raw materials utilised for energy generation, such as coal. (Fedotkina et al, 2019). Additionally, 1.9% of waste derives from nonferrous metallurgy and 0.6% from the chemical industry (ibid, 2019).  

Municipal Solid Waste

Municipal solid waste accounts for 1-2% of all waste generated, equivalating to 49 million tons in 2010, and

Since more than 90% of all waste

Classification of waste

A random fact here.

Waste production

I like waste.

Landfill

Alternatives to landfill

Recycle bin for glass Petersburg 2020

Protests and public backlash

Protests against landfills

Public domain images

Free images

Wikimedia - use thumbnail code.

Answers to Module 7 Questions

Anzac Bridge, Sydney

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