Session ECOSAVE. Ecology of Industry took place on August 19 as a part of the All-Russian Investment Sabantuy Transurals 2020. It became one of the most urgent discussion of the forum.

The main topic to discuss for the participants was how to handle the consumer and industrial wastes. Niyaz Fazylov, the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Republic of Bashkortostan said that the most crucial problem is that we have no developed system handling solid housing wastes. The system should include measures for collecting, accumulating, transporting, processing, disposing, recycling and placing wastes.

Today only 18% of the total amount of wastes produced are recycled, only 2% are disposed. Since we don't have a system for sorting garbage and for disposing the sorted garbage, it leads to annual losses, because we bury 80% of unprocessed solid housing wastes. 20% of these wastes could have been profitably recycled. 60% could have been used as fuel or compost.

What prevents the industry of wastes disposal from forming this system is lack of funds to build a waste-processing and wastes-burning plants that would comply with the modern ecological requirements. The infrastructure of garbage handling in the republic is formed with 14 garbage-sorting facilities, 33 grounds for solid wastes burying (8 of them being over 90% full). The republic does not have any facilities for disposal of solid housing wastes.

Low amount of processed and disposed wastes least to the increasing number of facilities for waste storage. It makes the territory get bigger with areas occupies by dump sites and waste grounds. What is the most dangerous it is unauthorized dump sites. The republic currently has over 2000 of them. First of all, this issue could be solved by attracting the private business to the wastes processing activity.

The private capitals can be interested in wastes recycling if they see this business is profitable, sustainable and doesn't lack raw materials and if they are capable of a certain level of handling, Niyaz Fazylov said. Therefore, it is important to facilitate the establishment of the wastes handling industry with building garbage-sorting facilities, providing thorough garbage sorting, giving required communications, roads, creating a sufficient logistic chain, arranging sorted garbage collection. These measures help if the infrastructure cannot provide profitability for wastes disposal activity.

The main source of funding in wastes handling is owners of the solid housing wastes who pay to regional operators standard fees, disposal duties and ecological duties. Manufacturers and importers of vehicles or consumer goods also pay their contributions. The projects aimed at developing the wastes recycling and disposal infrastructure cab be implemented also if facilitated by PPP. Niyaz Fazylov is sure that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Republic of Bashkortostan is interested in attracting investors in the wastes handling. Therefore, they are ready to provide them with support.

The session participants included representatives of regional operators for solid housing wastes handling, they told what their pains are. Only 70-75% of bills for wastes handling are paid. In many areas about one third of enterprises do not conclude contracts with the regional operators for wastes handling. Airat Akhmetov represents Spetsavtokhoziyastvo Ufy minucupal unitary enterprise. He said that many small and medium businesses conclude fake contracts and specify lowered amounts of wastes in their reports to supervising bodies. They bring their garbage to unauthorized dump sites or to someone else's sites.

To solve this issue, we have to change the federal legislation and adopt stricter punishments for businesses that mistreat their wastes. The discussion also touched on the issue of fee increase. It is needed to implement investment projects.

The session continued. The Republic of Bashkortostan and the Federal Environmental Operator (FEO) signed an agreement on cooperation in safe handling of wastes of I and II category and elimination of the accumulated ecological damage caused to the region. On behalf of the FEO the agreement was signed by Maksim Korolkov, the First Deputy Chief Executive Officer on Environmental Projects. On behalf of the republic it was signed by Ilshat Fazrakhmanov, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

We have been challenged to solve an urgent issue of creating an efficient and safe system that would allow safe handling o wastes of I and II categories. This mission is to be participated by regions. After September 1, companies of Bashkortostan will be able to test a state information system related to wastes handling. They will have a chance to try working with garbage with regards to the new rules. The rules will be adopted on January 1, 2020, Maksim Korolkov said.

During the meeting the parties agreed to launch pilot projects together that would help form the modern infrastructure. This infrastructure will provide a safe handling of wastes of I and II categories. They established an intention to implement projects aimed at eliminating the accumulated ecological damage. They agreed to develop and adopt new technologies for environmental issues to form a culture of rational treatment of industrial and consumption wastes.

Our republic participates in the federal project Infrastructure for Handling Wastes of I and II Categories. This project is included in the Ecology national initiative. We wanted to form the infrastructure that will help us wisely treat hazardous wastes. We made the associated amendments to the Federal Law on Industrial and Consumption Wastes. This law appointed Rosatom Nuclear Power Corporation a federal operator on hazardous wastes handling, said Ilshat Fazrakhmanov. If we build up a system for safe handling of hazardous wastes in the territory of the republic, the federal operator will be able to watch over the wastes flow from producers to the preparing, recycling, disposal and storage facilities. It is important to have a well-developed logistics.

FYI:

The Second All-Russia Investment Sabantuy Transurals-2020 is these days taking place in Sibay, the Republic of Bashkortostan. The event is organized by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The Forum is operated by Office-Group Congress Bureau of Bashkortostan, ANPO The official digital sponsor was Rostelekom, PJSC.

The Investment Sabantuy business program invites representatives of federal and local state institutions, of Russian and overseas business. It invites investors, experts and public figures.

The speaker list includes: Svetlana Chupsheva, CEO of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, Radiy Khabirov, the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Aleksey Volin, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communication and Mass Media, Irina Makieva, Deputy Chairperson of VEB.RF State Corporation, CEO of Monotowns Development Fund NPO, Aleksey Venediktov, Editor-in-Chief of Echo of Moscow radio station, Andrey Nazarov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Veronika Peshkova, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Goodwill Ambassador of Russia, Rashid Ismailov, Chairman of the Russian Ecological Community, All-Russia Public Organization for Environmental Protection, Anna Gurinchuk, Director of Travel Business School, Chief Expert in Tourism Activity of World Skills, Rustam Muratov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan - Minister of Economic Development and Investment Policy of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Tatyan Mineeva, Commissioner for Entrepreneurs' Rights in Moscow, Mikhail Fedotov, Co-Chairman of the Public Board for Complaints on Media, Konstantin Chechenev, President of the Publishers' Association of Russia, Aleksey Volkov, Vice-President of the Hospitality Industry Union, Anton Stepanenko, Director of The Boston Consulting Group, Ruslan Nasypov, producer of Channel 1. Worldwide Network and Поехали! TV channel, Svetlana Konnova, Head of Naumi and ODRI brands, representative of foreign companies, Russian business community and heads of investment committees.

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