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The issue of disposal of solid household waste in Ukraine is very acute: 7% of our territory is occupied by landfills littered with debris.<\/p>\nThe issue of disposal of solid household waste in Ukraine is very acute: 7% of our territory is occupied by landfills littered with debris.<\/p>\n
The lion’s share of them does not meet European or Ukrainian standards. The law on mandatory sorting of garbage last year is still not working. Recycling market is not profitable to work with Ukrainian waste, so municipal waste is sorted only by activists.<\/p>\n
It’s a vicious circle. Many call for the implementation of \u201cproducer responsibility\u201d following the example of European countries, and with the money received, to set up the infrastructure: to build processing plants and stations. But no matter how remarkable the most innovative automatic sorting line and processing plant would be, without first sorting the garbage, they won\u2019t be able to do anything. It turns out that people do not sort garbage, because there is no infrastructure, and spending money on insanely expensive equipment does not make sense until we can provide it with initially sorted waste.<\/p>\n
Remarkably, the circle closes at the moment when the waste needs to be thrown away. However, in the same Europe, it was found out long ago that successful waste disposal is the result of the transformation of consumer behavior and the entire production chain.<\/p>\n
Garbage dumps Kharkiv overflowing<\/p>\n
In Kharkov, as elsewhere in Ukraine, almost all waste is collected at landfills. According to the Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, there are 49 official landfills. Information on waste volumes and landfill congestion can be viewed on this map.<\/p>\n
Of all Kharkiv landfills, only a third is adequately designed (taking into account safety measures), 10 are overloaded, and only 3 (!) Are equipped with a filtrate collection system. This means that a mixture of organic and inorganic, dry and wet debris with natural sediments freely flows into the soil and groundwater, polluting them with toxins, toxic compounds and heavy metals. So, despite the fact that the landfills in Kharkov are not burning yet, there is enough cause for concern.<\/p>\n
The statistics are scary, but compared to many cities in Ukraine, Kharkov has a bright future. According to the same Ministry of Ecology, work is currently underway on construction of four waste disposal facilities in Kharkiv, one of which, namely the Dergachi waste recycling plant, is financed by the International Bank as part of its Second Urban Infrastructure Project. The organization has invested 40 million dollars in the complex and expects that the \u201cvisible results\u201d of the project will be achieved by 2020.<\/p>\n
The project of the object, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers last year and published on the website of the city council, contains only the budget and area of \u200b\u200bthe plant (1 billion 364 million UAH, 39 hectares). From the statements of the authorities, one can learn that the Dergachevsky waste recycling plant will be the first complex in Ukraine, corresponding to the \u201cNational Waste Management Strategy until 2035\u201d. The plant will receive, sort and recycle solid household waste, producing according to forecasts 13.5 – 42 million kWh of electricity per year.<\/p>\n
The other two complexes are not doing so well. Innovative action is not visible there. The complex in Bohodukhiv was opened in 2016, but the facility has not yet worked for a day. The \u201cadjustment\u201d work was officially suspended after the Green Front organization appealed to the Ministry of the Environment. The appeal contains 9 serious comments on the project and planned activities of developers. The authors of the petition emphasize that the site selected for work is located higher above sea level than the city itself, therefore waste can contaminate wells and other sources of drinking water. Also, the developer indicated that he plans to use the filtrate to moisten the landfill during dry periods, but did not mention how it is planned to dispose of the excess filtrate in spring and autumn, which directly contradicts the environmental safety standards.<\/p>\n
In the city of Lyubotin, during the four years of work at the site, they only dug a pit; there is not enough funding for everything else. The complex is being built on the site of a spontaneous landfill, located literally 500 meters from residential buildings. Other norms of the law are also violated; three courts put this in place (Lyubotinsky City Court of the Kharkiv Region, Kharkov Appeal Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine), but this does not stop anyone.<\/p>\n
It turns out that despite the fact that there is some kind of development, financing still goes to the old, life-threatening, testing grounds.<\/p>\n
See also: Dangerous roofs: how Kharkov fights with icicles<\/p>\n
Sorting of garbage in Kharkov<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, within the framework of the \u201cNational Strategy for Waste Management until 2035,\u201d the city purchased new (though not intended for primary sorting) containers. In Kharkov, 1,711 plastic containers were installed, and the CBR utility company plans to launch a new equipment for garbage collection.<\/p>\n
The question arises, what about the law \u201cOn Vidzha\u201d, updated last year, and what was all the noise about compulsory sorting if nothing changes? Indeed, it is impossible to fine Kharkiv citizens, since at the moment the infrastructure is only for separate release of plastic. It\u2019s early to hope for quick and massive changes. Despite this, up to 5% of Kharkiv citizens consciously and voluntarily participate in garbage sorting. Organizations such as \u201cZero Waste\u201d, \u201cI sort out\u201d, \u201cPrikhisti package\u201d and others do not expect support from the authorities, while they themselves organize collection points for sorted waste and inform people about how to properly sort garbage.<\/p>\n
Sort paper, glass, plastic, metal and batteries absolutely easy. In Kharkov, there is not a single point of reception of such waste. Unfortunately, they are not always conveniently located, and for many Kharkiv citizens sorting garbage is a time and financial cost. However, if you have a garden or a vegetable garden with a compost pit, then you can reduce your negative impact on the environment without large time investments. It is enough to separately dispose of some organic waste, and you are no longer involved in the formation of leachate and produce from 5 to 20% less garbage than before.<\/p>\n
On average, in the Kharkiv region one person produces about 14 cubic meters of waste, in other words, from 2,100 to 3,500 kg of garbage per year. For example, in Sweden this figure in 2012 was 127 kg per person. Obviously, the problems with waste in the Kharkiv region will not be solved by the construction of several high-tech installations and even the initial sorting of one hundred percent of the waste.<\/p>\n
Research and experience from other countries show that the problem of waste disposal is a strategic weakness in the production and supply chain, and therefore must be solved much earlier than the moment when the waste needs to be discarded, sorted or recycled. Concepts such as the circular economy and sustainable development today determine the strategies of developed countries in the field of waste management.<\/p>\n
In Ukraine, and in Kharkov in particular, government intervention alone is not enough. Fortunately, it has long been known that consumer behavior is the most effective way to influence any manufacturer. Choosing ecological brands, using reusable containers when buying products such as eggs, milk, water, cereals and other products, sorting your garbage can support a more conscious culture of consumption and not become part of the problem of waste management.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The issue of disposal of solid household waste in Ukraine is very acute: 7% of our territory is occupied by landfills littered with debris. The lion’s share of them does not meet European or Ukrainian standards. The law on mandatory sorting of garbage last year is still not working. Recycling market is not profitable to […]<\/p>\n