MINSK, 14 November (BelTA) – The recycling of solid municipal waste in Belarus has tripled in the last decade, BelTA learned from Artyom Shkryl, Deputy Director of the state institution Operator of Secondary Material Resources, at a press conference on 14 November.
According to Artyom Shkryl, an expanded responsibility principle was introduced in Belarus in 2012. In line with the principle the manufacturer and the importer are responsible for the entire lifecycle of their product from manufacturing to recycling. “We have certain results ten years later. The level of usage of solid municipal waste totaled 31% in 2021, up from 10% in 2010. Collection of secondary material resources was slightly more than 790,000 tonnes in 2021, twice as much as in 2012. The collection of certain kinds of secondary material resources has tripled. For instance, glass and plastic,” the official said.
In his words, the introduction of the expanded responsibility principle resulted in the creation of an entire sub-branch of the economy. As many as 172 organizations took care of collecting secondary material resources ten years ago. The number was at 429 as of early 2022 and rises every year. Organizations of the Belarusian National Union of Consumer Societies, the holding company Belresursy, organizations of the housing and utilities industry, private companies are involved in the collection of secondary material resources.
A national strategy on managing solid municipal waste and secondary material resources is being implemented in Belarus. The document stipulates the main directions of the country's development in this sphere till 2035. “We intend to increase the usage of solid municipal waste by developing the system of collection and processing of secondary material resources and by composting the organic part of the waste and using it for energy generation. A project to make alternative fuel out of solid municipal waste is being implemented at a waste recycling plant in Grodno. This fuel will be used by the construction materials company Krasnoselskstroymaterialy in the future,” Artyom Shkryl pointed out.
He also remarked that the separate waste collection system has been expanded in Belarus in the last few years. The number of containers for separate waste collection has increased to about 400,000 across the country. The network of shops for buying secondary material resources has been expanded.
