The Russian Federation may determine those responsible for the elimination of unauthorized dumpsites

Regional authorities will have to eliminate unauthorized garbage dumps if the perpetrators cannot be identified. At present, those responsible for the liquidation of such dumps have not been legally determined. This is stated in the bill, prepared with the participation of the Russian Environmental Operator (REO) and adopted in the first reading in the State Duma. The document was read by Izvestia on February 14.

"Unauthorized dumps represent a big problem in the sphere of waste management, as it is often impossible to determine the culprits of their occurrence. But such dumps pose a threat to the environment and must be eliminated one way or another. With the participation of REO specialists a draft law has been prepared, which defines those responsible for the liquidation of dumps", - said the Director General of REO Denis Butsaev.

According to him, if the culprits have not been found, then the state authorities and local self-government bodies should liquidate them depending on the size of the dump. For example, if it is a small dump, then the municipality should liquidate it as part of landscaping, if it is large, then the region. It is expected that the bill will be passed in 2025 and will come into force in 2026.

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The bill will amend the Federal Law "On Production and Consumption Waste" and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation. It determines the ownership, distribution and sources of funding for the liquidation of unauthorized solid municipal waste (MSW) disposal sites found within the boundaries of municipalities, on lands or land plots, the state ownership of which is not delimited, as well as on land plots owned by the state.

Under the current legislation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as local governments, have the necessary authority to deal with TKO, including the prevention of landfills, but not their elimination.

In addition, the bill clarifies the procedure for interaction between state bodies and local governments in the detection of dumps during state land, environmental and forest control (supervision), as well as within the framework of forest protection measures.

Earlier, on February 12, the REO supported the pilot project on the transition to digital receipts for housing and utilities in the Moscow region. REO CEO Denis Butsaev told Izvestia that in terms of ecology it should be extended to the whole country. This is especially important for waste reduction in the context of the federal project "Closed Cycle Economy".