Russia will strengthen supervision of landfills

Russia is preparing to strengthen the supervision of landfills and may legislate the use of unmanned aircraft systems, airborne laser scanning, aerial photography and thermal imaging to check such facilities. A draft order with new inspection rules was prepared by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment together with the Russian Environmental Operator (REO) and sent to the Cabinet of Ministers, the REO told Izvestia on September 19. After the adoption of the document, the new rules will enter into force on September 1, 2026.

"The use of modern technologies in waste management is an important direction for the development of the industry and the transition to a closed—loop economy. Drones allow for rapid and high—quality inventory of landfills, which ultimately makes the system more transparent and efficient," Denis Butsaev, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.

Drone video shooting and 360-degree panoramic photography will become mandatory. Additionally, laser scanning, aerial photography, and thermal imaging from the air are available for MSW landfills. All this will allow not only to shorten the inventory time, but also to assess the remaining capacity of landfills and identify violations. For example, the absence of weight control posts, the presence of smoldering or ignition, and the disposal of non-MSW waste, the REO added.

Drones make it possible to reduce the inventory time of landfills where waste is placed from three months to five days, that is, by almost 20 times. Also, thanks to drones, the cost of inventory is reduced by 3 times (from 650 to 232 thousand rubles). Tens of thousands of hectares can be surveyed in one flight under favorable weather conditions, the REO concluded.

Meters squared: fees for garbage collection may change in the regions

What will the amounts in the receipts depend on and how will this affect the homeowners?

Earlier, on August 27, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, as part of a working trip to the Irkutsk region, visited the Babkhinsky landfill, where work is underway to eliminate accumulated environmental damage. In particular, the Deputy Prime Minister assessed the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant (DSP).

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