Russia is slowly but surely turning into a waste collection site from all over the world.
According to customs statistics, Russia increased the import of plastic waste in 2019. Turkey and Belarus bring most of the garbage to us. In total, 18 countries throw their waste into Russia, including Ukraine and the United States. But what is the interest - to buy someone else's garbage? Moreover, plastic, which today is considered one of the most toxic waste.
Today, 8 million tons of plastic waste gets into the waters of the World Ocean and other water bodies on Earth, or 1 garbage truck with a capacity of 20 cubic meters. m of polymers per minute. According to UN calculations, by 2050 there will be more plastic in water than fish.
Deadly little thing
“The main supplier of plastic waste is Southeast and South Asia,” said Alexey Zimenko, biologist, ecologist, director of the Center for Wildlife Conservation, to AIF. "The pollution of the Mekong River, the largest river on the Indochina Peninsula, with plastic bags and bottles, for example, has long exceeded all conceivable norms." All this is carried out into the sea and then spreads over the World Ocean - as a result, at least five giant garbage spots of polymer particles have already formed there: two spots in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and one in the Indian.
“Microplastic, that is, solid particles of synthetic polymers 5 mm or less, is present not only on the surface, but all over the bottom of the World Ocean, and even at the bottom of the world's deepest Mariinsky Trench,” says Zimenko. - Microplastic is formed as a result of the decomposition of large plastic, during the washing of synthetic clothes, the use of some types of detergent and even toothpaste. It was found on the tops of the highest mountains, and it was not climbers who brought it there, but wind and precipitation. Microplastics are commonly found in drinking water, including tap and bottled water.
Plastics of any kind decay over the centuries, which means that during the lifetime of current generations, all the plastic waste left by humanity will not go anywhere on its own. "Until now, not a single plastic product that has been produced since the invention of this material (the first plastic was obtained in England in the middle of the 19th century - Ed.) Has not been" digested "by the environment," the head of the toxic program explained to AiF " Greenpeace Russia”Alexey Kiselev. “Large plastic products have been transformed into microplastics over the decades, but they have not disappeared.” Environmentalists warn that if humanity does not reduce the current consumption of plastic, then by the time the first plastic products finally begin to decompose,the surface of the Earth will already begin to completely consist of polymers - like the famous "plastic porridge" in the movie "Kin-dza-dza!"
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Snag food
Sadly, biodegradable plastics (derived from vegetable fats and oils, corn starch or microbiota) that are thrown into landfills also contribute to the planet's poisoning. Destroyed by microorganisms, they release methane into the air, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. “Some plastics can lie in the landfill for centuries and not have too much influence on the situation in nature,” says A. Zimenko. - But in general, polymers in landfills emit a considerable proportion of toxic substances, of which methane, by the way, is far from the most dangerous. All this poison is carried in the vicinity by wind, water, animals and birds."
The damage that plastic waste inflicts on wildlife is difficult for scientists and ecologists to calculate. According to the most approximate data, a million seabirds, mammals, turtles and other inhabitants of the seas and oceans die every year because of plastic. Microplastic particles are found even in the organisms of creatures living at depths of several kilometers. The fact is, Zimenko explains, that in the ocean, microorganisms and algae begin to inhabit the notorious plastic spots, and as a result, the polymer particles begin to emit an edible fishy smell. Marine mammals and birds take it all for food and swallow it. They clog the stomach with plastic, which creates a feeling of satiety, but at the same time no nutrients enter the body, and the animal or bird dies from exhaustion or toxic substances,which accumulate and are transmitted in the animal kingdom throughout the food chain. In addition, animals and birds become entangled in plastic fibers, like in nets, and also die from hunger or suffocation.
Plastic can also harm human health. “Any plastic tableware is potentially dangerous, but to varying degrees,” says A. Zimenko. "Plastics that are intended for food are relatively safe only if a number of certain conditions are met - no damage (scratches and cracks), heating to critical temperatures, exposure to alkaline detergents, contact with alcohols and fats." In addition, it is necessary to take into account the aging factor of plastic - over time it collapses, releasing decay products.
It is impossible to completely abandon the production and use of plastic: it has become part of our everyday life too tightly, although today initiatives are being introduced to limit the use of plastic products - for example, bags and containers for liquids. What to do? After all, large plastic, and especially microplastic for all its invisibility, is a gigantic threat to the biosphere and man. According to Aleksey Kiselev, clearing the waters of the World Ocean from plastic requires resources that today are simply unaffordable for humanity: “Therefore, most of the plastic that has already entered the water will be there, most likely, forever - we simply do not have enough resources to to withdraw and dispose of - and this is billions of tons."
Paper is not a substitute for plastic
Maybe it makes sense to go back to paper bags, as it was in the USSR? Many European countries see them as an alternative to polyethylene.
“I don’t think this is a solution,” says the ecologist, head of the Zero Waste project at the Russian branch of GreenPeace, Alexander Ivannikov. - Making any one-time bag will take a lot more resources than we get any benefit. Thus, in the production of paper bags, 70% more harmful substances are emitted into the atmosphere, discharges into water bodies increase 50 times, and the carbon footprint of a paper bag is 3 times greater than that of a plastic one. At the same time, deforestation will increase by 15%. You can use such a bag only a couple of times - it breaks quickly. And on landfills, the paper bag does not decompose, since it does not have contact with soil and water, but emits methane. So while 94% of all waste in Russia is not recycled and ends up in landfill, the only sustainable alternative to disposable plastic bags are reusable bags and sacks.
San Francisco (USA)
The goal of "zero waste" should be reached by 2020 - garbage will not go to landfills or incinerated at all.
All garbage that is collected in the city is divided into three streams: dry recyclable materials, wet organic waste, and so on. Anything that is dangerous can be handed over directly at the points of sale; textiles are also collected and processed separately. Sorting is mandatory for businesses, and refusal to do so leads to huge fines. Restaurants are sure to sort food waste. Disposable plastic bags are prohibited in the city.
Kamikatsu (Japan)
Zero Waste Target To Be Reached By 2020
All residents of Kamikatsu separate their waste into 34 types: for example, steel cans, aluminum cans, cardboard, paper advertising, etc. The program of separate collection started in 2003.
Since the city is small, all residents are required to bring pre-sorted waste to the recycling center, where employees are taught how to use separate containers correctly, and in case of errors, they re-sort the waste. There is a second-hand shop in Kamikatsu where you can bring more useful things. There is also a small recycling workshop that makes toys from old kimonos, for example.
Capannori (Italy)
By 2020, the city intends to sort and recycle 100% of waste.
The "zero waste" program, which is in effect here, provides not only for sorting waste, but also refusal to use disposable packaging and tableware. For example, you can buy detergents and drinks in local stores in your own container, which is very profitable and at a price.
As part of the program, residents received a free set of containers for sorting waste, which are removed by special vans on certain days. Bulky waste is accepted in a special center. At the same time, for the delivery of waste, the local population receives a discount on utility bills, as well as special checks.
Ljubljana (Slovenia)
So why do we need someone else's garbage? And what prevents the collection of plastic waste in Russia itself? Ruslan Gubaidullin, Executive Director of the Association of Regional Operators "Clean Country", reports.
How empty bottles travel
- In fact, Russia does not buy garbage abroad, but raw materials for its processing plants. This is plastic packaging waste that has already been sorted and prepared for recycling. By the volume of purchases in 2018, Belarus took the first place, from where 7 thousand tons of used plastic were imported. These are mainly pressed PET bottles from various drinks. There are also purchases of PET flakes (the same bottles, but washed and shredded), polypropylene and low-pressure polyethylene in granules, into which plastic boxes, cans and barrels are processed. Other notable countries from which imports come are Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Holland, Germany. And from Turkey, we receive polyester packaging tape obtained from green bottles, which the Turks, in turn, buy in Europe.
According to official customs statistics, Russian purchases abroad in the category of “waste, trim and scrap from plastics” in 2018 amounted to $ 20.3 million. This is not a very large amount. But it is 32% more than a year before, and in the 1st half of 2019 the growth of imports of plastic waste continued.
Why? Paradoxically, Russian factories that recycle plastic waste lack raw materials. Every year in our country, 3 million tons of used bottles and other polymer waste are generated, but the system for collecting and sorting it is so imperfect that only 10-15% is recycled. PET products have the highest recycling rate - 24%.
For comparison: Switzerland, Japan, Canada recycle up to 90% of plastic packaging. When will Russia approach this level?
How is the "garbage reform" going?
The biggest challenge is that landfills are still mostly unsorted. Therefore, the problem of plastic recycling cannot be solved without creating a system for the separate collection of all solid municipal waste (MSW) and their subsequent processing - disassembly and cleaning. The national project "Ecology" sets a goal that by the end of 2019 the level of solid waste processing in our country will reach 12%, and by the end of 2024 - 60%. If we can maintain the indicated rates, then 7% of all types of waste will be recycled this year, and in 5 years - 36%. In total, within the framework of the national project, it is planned to build 200 new enterprises engaged in the preparation of waste for processing and disposal into useful secondary raw materials. Forty new processing facilities were built already last year.
In 2018, a “garbage reform” also began, during which an operator company was created in each region, responsible for the collection and processing of waste. But the reform is proceeding slowly: there are problems with the allocation of land for the construction of new sorting complexes and with the attraction of investments. Private businesses are in no hurry to make investments, as they first want to make sure that all new businesses will be loaded with work and can make a profit. And for this, again, you need more garbage, divided for a start into useful fractions - paper, plastic, metal and glass.
In residential areas, in the coming years, it is necessary to build 750 thousand garbage containers and container yards. The state should make basic investments in this. In April, at a meeting on environmental problems, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev promised to allocate 9 billion rubles from the federal budget for this purpose. And then regional operators will spend 1% of their gross revenue for container replacement annually.
So far, expenses do not agree with incomes and in the idea of organizing the collection of bottles through retail chains. In Europe, retail chains use vending machines that accept plastic and glass containers and immediately issue a fee for this. In Russia, such receivers have also appeared in some stores this year. But experiments show that collecting and delivering bottles to sorting points is an expensive process. Therefore, in order to recoup their costs, the chains will have to increase the cost of drinks and introduce a deposit system - when the cost of the container remains for the store, as it were, as a pledge, it uses the collected money to service the collection of bottles and returns it to customers gradually.
Is the import of plastic so beneficial?
In Russia, 160-180 factories are engaged in plastic processing. But large, using the most modern equipment, only 3-4. And small enterprises, due to low technical equipment, do not know how to produce recyclable materials of consistently high quality. It is clear that manufacturers of packaging and containers in such a situation give preference to primary polymers.
At the same time, Russia has all the necessary technologies and experience required for the production of high-quality granules and other plastic recyclable materials. There are opportunities to increase production at the existing facilities. And I think that many factories will refuse to import plastic waste over time. After all, taking into account transportation to Russia, this is far from always profitable. The cost of Russian raw materials fluctuates. For example, a ton of PET on the domestic market a few months ago cost 40 thousand rubles, now it is already 30 thousand. And a ton of imported PET bottles will cost 30-35 thousand with VAT: the comparison is not in their favor.
Leonid Vaisberg, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor:
Yes, it's an artificial engineering derivative. But at the same time, plastic is less dangerous than, for example, radioactive or biological contaminated materials.
It is important to learn how to properly dispose of it. In no case should you burn plastic in your summer cottage, like ordinary garbage. Open burning of plastic is extremely dangerous for the respiratory system, it is, figuratively speaking, a grater for the lungs. So after that, one should not be surprised at where oncology or other serious diseases suddenly arise.
It is also unacceptable for plastic to be stored in landfills in the open - the period of its decomposition is very long. But there are many modern recycling technologies that are completely safe. Plastic is being turned into a new product that will also benefit people. Or controlled combustion, for example, in cement kilns - I have nothing against it!
But nature feels the growth of production, no matter what advanced technologies we use. This is the so-called technogenic load on the environment. People should try to preserve their habitat and strictly regulate the conditions of human existence and activity in order to preserve the possibility of life on Earth for future generations. In the meantime, profit is sometimes so obscure that people act aggressively against nature.
Authors: Julia Shigareva, Vladimir Kozhemyakin, Alexey Makurin, Nadezhda Plakhova, Olga Salnikova