At the Government session chaired by the Prime Minister of RK Alikhan Smailov, measures to eliminate illegal dumps were considered. Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Akim of Mangystau region Nurlan Nogaev, Akim of Abay region Nurlan Urankhaev made reports on this issue.

According to space monitoring data, identified in 2022 spontaneous dumpsites are not fully eliminated and the elimination amounted to 77%. The largest number was identified in Akmola region - 830, Karaganda region - 745. Weak work on elimination was carried out in Abay, Ulytau regions and Astana city.

Since May 2023, 5,578 dumps have been identified, and elimination has reached only 50%. Also, Abay and Mangystau regions show weak work on elimination - only 16% each, Ulytau - 20%, Astana - 30%. Only last Thursday the level of elimination was 44% (2475 objects). That is, about 330 dumps were removed in 3 days.

"The main reasons for the formation of unauthorized dumps are the handling of municipal and construction waste, which shows weak work on the part of akimats, as well as low control over compliance with the requirements for the management of construction waste on the part of educators," said the Minister of Ecology.

To prevent the formation of unauthorized dumps, the Ministry of Ecology has taken a number of measures at the legislative level: 

• introduction of licensing and notification procedure for waste management business entities; 
• obligation on separate collection of waste by fractions was introduced; 
• increased fines for violation of waste management requirements for individuals from 10 monthly fines to 50 monthly fines.

There is the necessary competence of akimats for the development of infrastructure in this area, in particular for the provision of land plots, connection of infrastructure (water supply and drainage, electricity), development of measures and economic instruments, provision of preferences to business entities, conclusion of public-private partnership agreements.

"Work is underway to put into pilot operation the information system of the Ministry of Ecology to display the movement of garbage collection equipment using GPS sensors, it is planned to put into commercial operation next year. For example, a pilot project has already been implemented in Shymkent, in real time we see the movement of 42 garbage collection vehicles: from waste collection sites to places of their disposal," said the Minister. 

In this regard, akimats need to ensure the connection of waste disposal organizations to work in the information system. In addition, the Ministry of Ecology has developed a joint order with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan to curb illegal waste disposal, under which joint mobile groups conduct raids aimed at identifying the facts of illegal transportation of waste. In 2023, about 63 thousand administrative offenses were revealed.

According to Yerlan Nysanbayev, one of the reasons for the formation of spontaneous dumps is unauthorized landfills. In this regard, the issue of construction of new landfills without feasibility studies for the population of up to 50 thousand people has been resolved. This will save budget funds and reduce the time of construction of landfills. 

Realizing that the existing measures are insufficient, the Ministry of Ecology is working on the following measures:

• At present, the coverage area of space monitoring is 39 settlements, which does not provide a complete picture of spontaneous dumps at the country level. The issue of increasing the coverage area of settlements using space monitoring by 2024 is under consideration;
• Strengthening the control over the movement of construction waste by tracking in the "E-Kurylys" system, namely the volume of generation and the existence of contracts with special enterprises. In the future, it is planned to integrate this system with the information system of the Ministry of Ecology for tracking garbage trucks; 
• development of national standards for reuse of construction waste;
• granting competence to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for repeated violation of unauthorized waste disposal by seizing the vehicle.

"At meetings with industry associations in the field of waste management, the weak work of akimats and the need for material and technical equipment of the regions are noted. Together with our subordinate organization we plan to strengthen the work in this direction and the adoption of appropriate amendments to the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. I want to note that the subordinate organization was sent requests to akimats on the need for infrastructure, but not all akimats presented quality information," the speaker said.  

According to the analysis of the submitted information formed a preliminary pool of several projects for sorting, processing and disposal of waste in the amount of about 38 billion tenge (Astana, Shymkent, Almaty and Kostanay regions). Given that the adoption of amendments to the sectoral legislation may be delayed indefinitely, in order to prioritize the use of recycling payments for ecology, it is proposed to consider the possibility of financing projects by analogy with preferential car loans through a government decree. 

For the development of the industry it is necessary to understand the current situation on the ground, including problems and prospects. For this purpose, it is important for akimats to adopt, first of all, Municipal Waste Management Programs, which reflect actual volumes of generated waste and their growth trends, composition of municipal waste, available infrastructure and the need for it. This program will allow potential investors to assess the capabilities of the regions. To simplify the work, the Ministry of Ecology has approved methodological recommendations for the development of Programs. For today only Aktobe city has approved the mentioned Program, where the document mentions Uralsk instead of Aktobe. Secondly, akimats should pay attention to the quality of environmental action plans being developed, which include planning of expenditures of environmental payments for a three-year period. At present, akimats lay down measures to eliminate illegal dumps, while there are no measures to prevent their formation.

"Solving the problems of formation, elimination and prevention of spontaneous dumps requires more cardinal and decisive actions involving all stakeholders, including central and local government agencies. Akimats also need to establish close cooperation with public organizations and eco-activists to promptly identify spontaneous dumps and make consolidated decisions. The Ministry of Ecology will continue to coordinate the sphere and interaction with akimats," summarized the Minister of Ecology.

In turn, Akim of Mangystau region Nurlan Nogaev reported on unauthorized dumps in the region. According to his information, 111 unauthorized dumps have been identified in Mangystau region since May 2023, 40 objects have been destroyed. According to the approved schedule, dumps will be completely eliminated by November 30 this year. 

"On the initiative of the Akimat of Mangystau region, a special program on waste disposal and elimination of unauthorized dumps and quarries in Shetpe village of Mangystau region for 2023-2026 is being developed. Its implementation will require funds in the amount of 3.9 billion tenge," said the head of the region.

According to his data, during the implementation of the special program provides for the approval of tariffs for the collection, transportation, sorting and disposal of solid domestic waste, as well as the approval of norms of formation and accumulation of municipal waste, provision of containers, construction of 4 landfills for solid domestic waste and awareness-raising work with the population, managers and employees of industrial institutions.

Akim of the region Abay Nurlan Urankhayev said that according to the results of space monitoring on the territory of the region identified 51 unauthorized garbage dumps, according to the approved schedule, the work will be carried out by October 30, 2023. He also reminded that on August 31, 2023, the data of the geoportal "Garysh Sapary" were updated, as a result of which the number of dumpsites increased to 358. To date, of the 358 sites, 30 sites have been identified as authorized garbage dumps, 104 dumps have been eliminated, and 224 are undergoing elimination work.

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