Business news

31 Mar 2020

Collection of secondary raw materials in Belarus up 7.1% in 2019

An archive photo

MINSK, 31 March (BelTA) – In 2019, the collection of secondary raw materials in Belarus increased by 50,000 tonnes, or 7.1%, in comparison with 2018, BelTA learned from the Secondary Raw Materials Operator.

In 2019, the country collected 765,000 tonnes of secondary raw materials, including 381,800 tonnes of waste paper and cardboard, 188,100 tonnes of glass waste, 97,200 tonnes of plastic waste, 54,200 tonnes of worn tires, 18,200 tonnes of used car oil, and 25,510 tonnes of waste electronic and electrical equipment (old household appliances). Collection of secondary resources were up most in Minsk Oblast (up 16.8%) and Brest Oblast (up 12.8%).

According to the company, the use of municipal waste reached 22.6% in late 2019 thanks to the increase in the collection of secondary raw materials. In 2018, the use of secondary raw materials was at the level of 20% in 2018.

Thanks to the extended producer and supplier responsibility mechanism, a total of Br109.7 million was invested in the collection and recycling of municipal waste in the country in 2019. An estimated Br47.4 million was allocated through the compensation of collection costs to encourage organizations of different forms of ownership to collect secondary resources from municipal waste. Over Br57 million in investment were allocated to expand and upgrade infrastructure that collects, sorts, recycles and prepares secondary raw materials for use, including the construction of necessary plants and the purchase of equipment.

In 2019, the extended producer and supplier responsibility mechanism helped finance such major projects as construction of a waste sorting plant in Vitebsk, construction of a production line for the use of RDF fuel at subsidiary No.1 Cement Plant of Krasnoselskstroymaterialy, and the design of a waste processing plant for Bobruisk.

Some 6,786 more containers for separate waste collection were purchased in Belarus in 2019.

Specialists of the company also said that last year the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus conducted a poll on waste management. The results showed that almost every second resident of Belarus collected traditional types of secondary resources separately. Thus, 57% of respondents threw plastic waste into special containers, 48.5% of respondents did the same with paper waste, and 43.7% - with glass waste. More than half of citizens took a responsible approach to hazardous waste batteries, i.e. 58.9% of respondents dispose of them in special containers.

“The comparison of the results of the polls carried out in different years shows positive dynamics in the practice of separate waste collection in Belarus. In comparison with 2013 the share of those who collect plastic waste separately has doubled. The share of those who collect paper waste separately has soared almost four times,” the company said.



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