Waiting for response from president Medvedev...

Feature story - 16 March, 2009
Over one thousand Russians have demanded an explanation from the web site of the Russian president; why did their petition with signatures against further construction of incineration plants in Moscow were sent to a subordinate department of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Garbage Bin Man - the hero of “marathon STOPMSZ.ru”

The citizens question on what basis the presidential administration redirected their signatures, addressed personally to the president of the Russian Federation, to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which haven't got any mandate to prepare legislation bills in the case.

5th February 2009, Greenpeace Russia and the initiative groups in Moscow transferred above 112 000 signatures of Russian citizens against further construction of more incineration complexes. Two boxes of signatures were transfered to the presidential administration by the Garbage Bin Man - the campaign figure of "marathon STOPMSZ.ru". The marathon, as well as the Garbage Bin Man, was running for a month collecting the 112 520 signatures from inhabitants of Moscow, St.-Petersburg, Surgut, Tyumen, Kazan, Voronezh, Irkutsk, Nizhni Novgorod and other big cities of Russia. The petition propose a moratorium on further construction of new incineration complexes and recommend the Russian Government to immediately turn the policies in direction of development in the field of waste sorting and recycling.

Last year, president Medvedev himself declared that «the sector of clean technologies will not take place without new decisions on the issues of recycling and waste sorting». Since that moment a year have gone and the wishes expressed by the president remains non-realized. A few months after the presidents declaration the mayor of Moscow Yuriy Luzhkov gave green light for construction of six new incineration plants (МСЗ). The waste policy conduct of Moscow's mayor has also been adopted by the Mayor of St.-Petersburg V. Matvienko, supporting the initiative of the government to erect four new incineration plants in the northern capital. Corresponding construction plans of incineration plants - in order to solve the waste problems by more incineration - are known from the municipalities of Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Yakutsk and Nizhniy Novgorod.

The only existing short-term alternative to the ecological disaster of thoughtless mass incineration of waste from Russian households and industries would be an implementation of the recycling thoughts presented by the Russian president last year.

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