I. Metshin about the separate collection of waste: “The most difficult task is to change the minds of all residents of the city”

(KZN.RU, July 8). The success of the implementation of separate waste collection in Kazan depends on the quality of outreach work with citizens, said Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of the Tatarstan’s capital, at the Business Monday. He urged city residents to connect to the new rules for garbage collection more actively and noted the great role of the media in this work. The head of the city offered to hold a competition among the media for the best coverage of separate waste collection topic and award the most active citizens.

At the meeting, Iskander Giniyatullin, the deputy head of the Executive Committee, spoke about how a separate collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) is being introduced in Kazan. He noted that it is crucial to inform citizens about the rules for the collection of MSW. Garbage containers are covered with labels of waste types and inscriptions in Tatar and Russian. “We must ensure that the understanding of the mechanism and goals of separate garbage collection reaches every citizen”, marked the speaker.

“It's one thing that we need investments in infrastructure; we need a revolution in urban infrastructure for the collection and recycling of waste. But an even more difficult task is to carry out a revolution in the heads of all citizens. This is the most difficult”, agreed Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan. “We change our habits hard. We would need to get used to dual waste collection. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, but how do we reach everybody?”

The head of the city once again urged citizens to get involved in the work of introducing a separate collection of MSW. He also instructed to hold a competition among the media and mark the active citizens who popularize the separate collection of MSW.

“I want everyone to win so that everyone will be the best in covering this topic, including among active citizens”, said I. Metshin. “Offer formats, creative ideas, how we will communicate these to the residents. And we will find the strength to shake hands with everyone and say thank you that we have taken this important step together”.

According to Iskander Giniyatullin, as of today, 1133 sites have already been prepared for the separate accumulation of MSW, which is 64% of their total number. 4873 containers are located on them.

The Office of Architecture, districts’ administrations, and the Committee of Housing and Communal Services approved 8 types of container sites for separate accumulation of MSW, convenient for citizens. Their appearance was created for various types of urban development: modern residential complexes, housing estates with multi-storey panel houses, typical mid-rise buildings, the historic center, and others.

“First of all, management companies began to install such sites in return for damaged ones, as well as in yards where major repairs and landscaping were done”, explained I. Giniyatullin. “According to the approved samples, 15 new sites were built, and another 19 are planned to be built by the end of the year”.

Kazan still has 464 houses with garbage chutes. Residents of 165 of those decided in favor of container sites. 23 sites are planned to be built by the end of the year for these houses.

The management of organizations is responsible for the modernization of container sites on the territory of apartment buildings. And the municipality covers the creation and further maintenance of waste collection sites in residential areas, noted I. Giniyatullin. “In total, it is necessary to equip 322 sites worth about 239 million rubles. We need to do this work over the next two years”, he said.

By force of the regional operator OOO “UK PZhKKh”, they commissioned the second map of the MSW landfill on Khimicheskaya Street and acquired 300 euro containers of various capacities. 47 units of a special equipment have been purchased for the transport of waste over the past 3 years, including 28 new garbage trucks and 4 bunker trucks.

Separate accumulation, collection, and removal of waste are carried out in 97% of the houses of large management companies, as well as in residential complexes “Vesna”, “Art City”, “Svetlaya Dolina”, “21 Vek”, “Salavat Kupere”, and others.

“We must all feel responsible for future generations. No matter how pompous it may sound, but the ecology and purity of our tomorrow is in the hands of every single resident, every family. And the sooner we realize this, put things in order, the happier the ecological situation in our capital will be. And it will remain to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren”, concluded I. Metshin.