Problem 1. Unauthorized landfills poison the soil and water bodies
Such landfills do not take into account the requirements of environmental laws. They can be located near rivers and lakes, populated areas and forests. For example, the Pereslavl test site in the Yaroslavl region located a kilometer from the village of Krasnaya Derevnya, and local residents constantly complained about the smell and fires. The landfill operated for 60 years and was closed only in 2017.
In addition, sorted waste is taken to legal landfills, that is, high-hazard waste is not transported there. No one controls the contents of illegal dumps. There are harmful substances that, when they get into groundwater, spread beyond the landfill.
Such places become poisonous for decades: nothing can be grown on the land, and water cannot be used for domestic purposes. It’s a long wait for the area to recover on its own, and people have come up with a method for landfill reclamation. It consists of two stages.
- Technological. At the former landfill, wells are drilled and a system is installed to collect groundwater, which contains rotting products of organic waste. This helps stop soil contamination. Next, degassers are used – devices for removing landfill gas. It also comes from decay and contains methane and carbon dioxide.
- Biological. The soil is planted with plants to improve its properties.
Full recovery may take up to five years. Since 2019 in Russian cities reclaimed 128 landfills. Pereslavl test site also doesn’t bother local residents: more than 6 hectares of disturbed land were restored.
Problem 2. Valuable raw materials are thrown away
Garbage is not as simple as it seems: some countries even ready buy it. For example, from recycled plastic do clothes and shoes. And old electronics contains precious metals that can be used in new devices.
In 2018, 3% of waste in Russia was sorted and only 1% was reused. To change the situation opened 249 waste sorting and recycling enterprises. And 350 thousand containers for separate collection of paper, plastic and glass appeared in the courtyards of houses. Thanks to this, the share of waste sorted in the country exceeded 50%, and more than 12% is returned to production.
The national project helps preserve the environment in RussiaEcology” Thanks to it, waste processing complexes are built, landfills are reclaimed, forests are preserved and rivers are restored. For example, hazardous waste from the former Usolyekhimprom plant in the Irkutsk region was eliminated. By 2030, the country plans to ensure 100% waste sorting and halve the volume of waste that goes to landfills.
Problem 3. Sunken ships poison the seas and interfere with shipping
Once at the bottom, ships rust and can start highlighting petroleum products many years after the crash. They also interfere with the normal movement of ships and the construction of hydraulic structures.
Over the past two years in Russia disposed of 131 ships. And in 2024 only in the waters of the rivers of the Far East planned raise another 82.
To begin with, the ship graveyard is examined by divers. How the boat is lifted depends on its size: some are winched to shore, while others require inflatable pontoons. To remove large fragments, they are cut using a mobile laser complex right in the water.
Problem 4. Silt causes fewer fish and animals in rivers
There is silt at the bottom of any fresh body of water. Bacteria and algae live and multiply in it, which feed large river inhabitants. The amount of silt can increase due to soil erosion: more sand gets into the water. Silt also deteriorates due to dirty water that flows into the river with rain, melting snow, or from the network of city sewers and storm drains.
When there is too much silt, the reservoir turns into a fetid swamp. Such water has little oxygen and is unsuitable for many fish and animals. In addition, a dense layer of clay and mud clogs underwater springs and springs. Because of this, the renewal of water in the river stops. In such situations, you cannot do without the help of people. There are three types of cleaning:
- Mechanical. The sludge is removed using special equipment – water excavators.
- Chemical. Reagents are added to the water to destroy harmful algae.
- Biological. Filters with bacteria are placed in the river, which promote the decomposition of organic matter. They also plant useful plants. They absorb harmful substances from water and saturate it with oxygen.
Methods are usually combined. For five years this way in Russia cleared more than 417 km of rivers and other reservoirs and more than 21 thousand hectares of reservoirs.
Problem 5: Hazardous waste ends up in landfills
Some remain in the soil for centuries and harm nature. These include, for example, pesticides, asbestos, devices containing mercury – even a simple thermometer. Others take more than 10 years to decompose – for example, insecticides, fungicides, lead, arsenic.
Such waste in Russia is classified as hazard classes I and II. In 2022 launched system of their accounting and control. Entrepreneurs and companies must transfer waste generated during production to the federal operator. Some of the substances are planned to be recycled. For this purpose in the federal districts are building seven eco-technoparks. Four of them – in the Saratov, Kirov, Kurgan regions and the Republic of Udmurtia – will appear on the basis of enterprises for the destruction of chemical weapons. And three will be built from scratch.
Problem 6. The Volga is becoming shallow and filled with blue-green algae
The natural flow of the river is disrupted: now the Volga is a series of reservoirs, between which water is transferred artificially as needed. This prevents the river from restoring its ecosystem itself. In addition, large cities and industries are located along the Volga: since the end of the 19th century, waste and sewage have been poured into it. Chemicals from agricultural lands also got there.
Almost 60 million people live in the Volga basin—a third of Russia’s population. The condition of the river can affect their lives: it is an important source of fresh water and fish. To improve the health of the Volga, Soviet wastewater treatment plants are being modernized. Where repairs are impossible, new ones appear. In addition, 56 culvert structures were built and reconstructed over five years.
To prevent the water level from falling, the tributaries of the Volga are restored to health. For example, are building hydraulic structures in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain – a river valley in the Volgograd region, which has about 3,000 lakes and channels.
The national project “Ecology” Over five years, the volume of discharge of polluted wastewater into the river was reduced by almost half – by 45%, and by the end of 2024 it will decrease three times compared to 2018. Everyone can become part of a big cause and help nature. Join the “Water of Russia” campaign or organize your own on the website coast of good deeds.rf and in mini-application “VKontakte”.
