Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan

29 April 2013, Monday

Environmental problems solution is one of the priorities in the activity of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan. Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, told about it at the extended session devoted to the issues of organization of an integrated waste management system in the Republic of Tatarstan.

The meeting with all municipal areas of the republic took place in the form of a video conference in the Government House of Tatarstan. It was carried out by Vladimir Kirillov, the Head of the Federal Service for the Supervision of Natural Resources. Artem Sidorov, the Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, also took part in the work of the meeting.

In particular, Vladimir Kirillov thanked Rustam Minnikhanov for the invitation to visit the Republic of Tatarstan. He reported that this meeting had been held for the first time in Tatarstan, and that the same meetings on an integrated control system of waste management in the Russian Federation would be held in all federal districts.

Rustam Minnikhanov, in his turn, reminded that 2013 was declared as the Year of environmental protection in Russia. And in Tatarstan it is declared as the Year of environmental culture too.

“Environmental problems solution is one of the priorities in the work of our Government, - said Rustam Minnikhanov. – The problem of waste accumulation is an issue of the day both in the country and in regions of our republic. The amount of waste makes 8-9 million tons annually, including over 1 million ton of household waste, 1 million ton of industrial waste, and about 6 million tons of animal breeding waste. It is necessary to pay a well-deserved tribute for our taking up the problem, 50 solid domestic waste (SDW) landfills and 662 authorized waste deposits were constructed 10-15 years ago and they are still functioning. Unfortunately, rates of these objects filing are very high”.

According to Rustam Minnikhanov, the existing system of waste management in the Republic of Tatarstan is based mainly on the waste burial in SDW landfills. “The situation should be changed, - he declared, - it is necessary to create a fully functional regulatory system, a set of market and administrative tools which would provide efficient waste management. It is necessary to create an integrated waste management system”.

Rustam Minnikhanov reported that a pilot project is already prepared in Tatarstan. Main policy measures within the framework of the project envisage construction of a special center for waste management including landfills, sorting yards as well as a manufacture on waste processing, and ecology and technology park.

‘This project is of great interest, and we would like you to view it, - said Rustam Minnikhanov, addressing to Vladimir Kirillov. - Moreover, we’ve prepared a republican program in Tatarstan, and soon we are to implement it. This is a program of production and consumption wastes management”.

According to the President of Tatarstan, it is time to create the “e-Ecology” system, a uniform intelligence system on waste management. This segment is of great significance as it will make the process of waste generation and management as transparent as possible.

Moreover, Rustam Minnikhanov dwelled on a new system of enhancement of the waste management culture – a system of waste collecting and processing.

“We all have been abroad, we’ve seen that there is a system of separate collection of waste in many countries, - he said. – It will be difficult to implement this practice in our country, but we have to move forward in this direction, and this issue needs joint efforts at all levels of the power. This will have a positive result, and people will feel that both ecological culture and environmental situation are going to change in many respects”.

“Today Tatarstan has such developed branches as oil production and processing, petrochemistry, and mechanical engineering, and it is clear that it is a serious load on ecology,” – pointed out Rustam Minnikhanov. According to him, only systemic work and right decisions will provide a normal environmental situation in the republic. He assured directorship of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources that Tatarstan would take active part in all environmental projects.

Information of the Press Service of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan

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Rustam Minnikhanov: It is necessary to create a fully functional regulatory system, a set of market and administrative tools which would provide efficient waste management