An expanded meeting of the Ecology Commission of the Public Council of ROSATOM took place, at which the results of the implementation of the national project "Ecology" in 2021 were summed up.
Opening the meeting, Alexander Nikitin, Chairman of the Commission on Ecology of the Public Council of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, noted that the commission includes representatives from all regions of the implementation of the national project "Ecology". “State Corporation “Rosatom” is working on three federal projects of the national project “Ecology” at once: “Infrastructure for waste management of I-II hazard classes”, “Clean country” and “Preservation of Lake Baikal,” he recalled.

“I would like to emphasize the importance of combining the efforts of the public, science, business, authorities in this work. Only in close connection with all participants in the field of production and consumption waste management can we solve the complex tasks of building this new “ecological industry” in Russia and the formation of a “green” economy," emphasized the director of the direction for the implementation of state and sectoral programs in the field of ecology of State Corporation "Rosatom" Andrey Lebedev.

As part of the federal project "Infrastructure for Waste Management of I-II Hazard Classes", the Federal State Information System for Accounting and Control over the Management of Waste I and II Hazard Classes (hereinafter – the System) was developed. In December the participants began to connect to the system. About 500 participants have registered in the system since the beginning of December. The system will allow to keep records and control the entire life cycle of waste - from the moment of their generation to disposal, will help to predict capacity utilization and optimize logistics.

“The system is a kind of marketplace where all participants - waste generators, carriers, processors - will receive a transparent and understandable system of relations. Working in the system will eliminate the risks of losing business reputation due to violation of environmental legislation and will give enterprises the opportunity to enter the international market or receive green financing, - said Andrey Lebedev. Apart from that, the system will assist the companies in contributing to the efficient processing of waste providing recycling and reduction of the carbon footprint. Now we are waiting for the establishment of appropriate tariffs and from March 1, 2022, the federal operator will begin its work."

Work continues on the creation of a network of modern eco-technology parks for the processing of class I and II waste into secondary products. These eco-technology parks are equipped with the best Russian and foreign technologies and meet the principles of a circular economy. The design documentation of the first four eco-technology parks in the Kirov, Saratov, Kurgan regions and the Udmurt Republic passed all state examinations, and a construction permit was received. Contractors were selected on a competitive basis and government contracts were concluded for the construction of eco-technology parks in the Saratov and Kurgan regions.

Three more eco-technology parks will be built in the Irkutsk, Tomsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions. The design documentation of eco-technology parks has passed the procedure of public discussions, and is undergoing state expert examinations.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment attaches great importance to this federal project and the tasks which ROSATOM is facing. At the end of November, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov visited the future eco-technology park in the Kirov region. We hope for fruitful and well-coordinated cooperation with the State Corporation, and the Ministry of Natural Resources will do everything necessary to launch, operate and develop the information system,” said Oleg Vakhtin, Deputy Director of the Department for State Policy and Regulation in the Sphere of Production and Consumption Waste Management of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia.

ROSATOM is implementing major projects in the field of eliminating accumulated environmental damage as part of the federal projects "Clean Country" and "Preservation of Lake Baikal".

Reclamation of the Chelyabinsk city landfill was completed ahead of schedule in September. The project is a shining example of the synthesis of experience and technology. For the first time in Russia, a full range of measures has been implemented to eliminate the negative impact on the environment from the country's largest urban landfill. During the reclamation of the Chelyabinsk city landfill, the world's most advanced technologies for cleaning emissions and leachate were introduced.

It has already been recognized as a benchmark in the field of work with such objects of accumulated environmental damage. A unique experience has been obtained that must be applied to other facilities.

Federal Environmental Operator (a ROSATOM company) has completed the priority measures for the liquidation of the most complex facilities at the industrial site of the former enterprise. In parallel with this, it is preparing a project for the reclamation of the entire territory of the industrial site in the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye. By 2024, the site will be brought into a safe state for the creation of new industries on it.

The project for the reclamation of the Krasny Bor toxic industrial waste landfill near St. Petersburg has passed the state ecological expertise. Work will start next year. By the end of 2024, these facilities will be brought into a safe state.

On the territory of the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill in the Irkutsk Region, priority measures have been taken to lower the level of oversludge water. For this, local treatment facilities have been installed, engineering networks have been installed for the intake of over-sludge water from landfills and discharge of treated water into the centralized sewage network of the city of Baikalsk.

89 611 cubic meters of oversludge water were removed from the "problem" storage pads. This made it possible to avoid the potential threat of overflow of maps and the ingress of dirty water into Baikal.

Together with Rosprirodnadzor and the Russian Academy of Sciences, technologies are being selected that will be included in the project to eliminate the accumulated harm to the environment at the Solzansky, Babkhinsky landfills.

“This year was eventful: the Federal Environmental Operator held more than 50 events with public participation. In addition, several public discussions took place, - said Olga Plyamina, a member of the central council of the All-Russian Society for the Preservation of Nature, - The demand for information from the public remains very high. During the year, more than 8,400 works were published on the management of I-II class waste. We will continue to conduct systematic outreach work."