MINSK, 19 February (BelTA) – Belarus plans to raise the rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling to 64% in 2025, Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Andrei Khudyk said at the outcome meeting of the ministry in Minsk on 19 February, BelTA has learned.
Increasing the rate of recycling of municipal waste is one of the most important goals, the minister said. "In this matter, we need to apply a comprehensive approach and to work promptly to fulfill the tasks set by the head of state. Despite the fact that the rate has increased significantly (from 17.2% in 2017 to 27% in 2020). Yet we still register numerous violations related to the operation of waste burial facilities, illegal waste dumping," he said.
"Targets for the current five-year period are ambitious. We aim for 64% by 2025. We need to take more effective measures, to maximize the resources of the circular economy," Andrei Khudyk stressed.
According to preliminary data, 2.9 million tonnes of solid municipal waste was produced in Belarus in 2020, and only 789,800 tonnes were collected. The recycling rate was about 27%. In Minsk Oblast this index remains low (20.7%).
The increase in the recycling rate is due, among other things, to the continuous monitoring by the territorial authorities of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry over the operation of landfills, including the prevention of illegal dumping. By the end of 2020, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry and territorial authorities identified more than 16,000 illegal waste dumps. More than 4,000 violations of the rules of operation were detected in the operation of waste burial sites. In addition, about 1,900 cases of illegal dumping were established. Fines were imposed.
