Feature story - 6 August, 2007
July 25, 2007. Saint-Petersburg. Today Greenpeace had received an answer on open letter which was sent to U. H. Lukmanov, the president of Housing committee. It follows from the letter that separated collection of waste in Saint-Petersburg is nevertheless going to be legalized.
Separated collection of waste in Saint-Petersburg
In February of this year Greenpeace sent to the Housing
committee a report which shows unsatisfactory state of separated
collection of waste in Saint-Petersburg. In accordance with opinion
of Greenpeace experts the reason of such situation is an absence of
any standard act which orders how to sort waste and who is charged
with collection and how this system is financed.
U. H. Lukmanov answers that the rules of separated collection of
waste in the city are in the process of working out. In accordance
with press-cutting service of the Housing committee the decree
about order of separated collection of waste is planned to be
submit to a sitting of the Government in September of this year.
And on the same sitting the decree about the information of
population about the separated collection of waste is to be
adopted.
"We are waiting for a long time the standard act that will
legalize the separated collection of waste in Saint-Petersburg and
we greet its working out", - says Igor Babanin, the coordinator of
project of the efficient using of resources. "It's understandable
why this process is so unforgivable slow. After all our city is
long ago ready for an introduction of civilized collection of waste
and it would approach our city to the European standards. I hope
that in September separated collection of waste in Saint-Petersburg
will really be "legalized", - he continues.
Additional information
At present time the situation with the separated collection of
waste in Saint-Petersburg is paradoxial. It usually happens that
for making any important decision a lot of decrees and standard
acts are produced but in action nothing works. In case of separated
collection of waste everything quite the contrary: 4400 special
containers had already been bought and part of them had been placed
in the city. Domestic waste is collecting and sending separately
for processing. But separated collection does not exist "on paper".
The base of separated collection of waste today is verbal decrees
of Governor and some lines in the Conception of handling with
waste.
The absence of standard act regulating this system adversely
affects the development of separated collection of waste. Housing
organizations do not see any reasons to collect the waste
separately, to look after multicolored containers and to place them
correctly, to inform inhabitants. They just can see only costs and
no advantages of the separated collection. The ferrymen of waste
suffer additional losses at their own expense. As a result it often
happens that containers for secondary raw materials are situated
back to front and people overfull them. And sometimes containers
even disappear from their place.
On 27th July in the interview to the "5th channel" U. H.
Lukmanov, the president of Housing committee had announced that
there is no need to lay down rules of separated collection. And it
was seen from his speech that Housing committee does not know
anything about unsatisfactory state of areas for separated
collection of waste in Saint-Petersburg.
More information in Saint-Petersburg's office Greenpeace:
(812)352-1022, 352-9219, (962)695-6640 - Igor Babanin, Maria
Musatova.
Documents:
Open
letter from Greenpeace to U. H. Lukmanov, the president of Housing
committee Saint-Petersburg.
The
truth about the separated collection of waste in Saint Petersburg.
The state of container areas for separated collection of domestic
waste.
About
the decree of the Government of Saint Petersburg of guaranteeing
separated collection of waste in Saint Petersburg.