Authorities will pay operators for garbage disposal during the epidemic

For garbage collection during the coronavirus pandemic, the government promises to reimburse regional operators for part of the lost revenue. But companies warn of a risk of falling collection of payments from the population from 79 to 41.5%

During the coronavirus pandemic, the government plans to compensate the regional waste collection operators for part of the lost revenue from the federal budget, and their creditor banks for the lost loan income. This follows from a letter of March 31, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Konstantin Rumyantsev, sent to the government apparatus. RBC has a copy of the document, its authenticity was confirmed by a federal official and a source close to one of the regional operators.

According to a source close to one of the operators, we can talk about reimbursement of about 10-15 billion rubles. At the same time, the lost revenue of companies is at least twice as high: their receivables are at least 33 billion rubles. with total revenue of 185 billion rubles. in 2019, he adds.

What subsidies can garbage operators receive

At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko on Thursday, April 2, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the Russian Environmental Operator (REO, curator of the garbage reform), they discussed measures to support regional waste collection operators during the coronavirus epidemic, told RBC a source in the apparatus of Abramchenko.

“In conditions of self-isolation and remote work, the volume of garbage of the population is increasing, which imposes an additional burden on regional operators. In order to prevent garbage collapses, it is necessary to support the industry, ”said the interlocutor of RBC. Since March 28, in Russia, by order of President Vladimir Putin, a non-working week has been operating to prevent the spread of the virus. The day before, the head of state extended non-working days until the end of April.

According to a source in the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Abramchenko proposes to provide subsidies to the regions in proportion to the volume of garbage disposed of from the average value in the area served by each company. “Now a calculation procedure is being prepared based on the load on each of the regions,” he said, without mentioning the amount of possible subsidies. The interlocutor, close to one of the participants at the meeting with Abramchenko, claims that the Deputy Prime Minister offered to allocate 10 billion rubles to companies. But the amount of subsidies has not yet been approved. According to Kommersant, at this meeting, the Ministry of Natural Resources and REO first requested subsidies of 30 billion rubles, but then reduced the amount to 10 billion rubles.

Representatives Abramchenko and the Ministry of Natural Resources declined to comment.

The letter of Rumyantsev states that subsidies are provided to compensate for the shortfall in income and expenses of regional operators that arose from April 1 to the end of 2020, and we are talking only about those entities where economically unjustified (low) tariffs for waste collection are set.

The rules on the provision of subsidies are proposed to support only those companies whose lost revenue exceeds 30% of the total volume of bills for garbage collection. The document does not mention compensation for shortfall payments for garbage collection of a business, it refers only to payments by the population. Operators will also be able to request an advance payment to the Ministry of Natural Resources for the payment of salaries, settlements with contractors and taxes.

Part of the funds will be used to reimburse banks for lost income on the provision of soft loans (at a rate not exceeding 5%) for regional operators. Subsidies are granted to an authorized bank in the amount of 100% of the Central Bank key rate effective at the date of conclusion of the loan agreement, plus 50%, but not more than 90% of the amount of payments on the loan, for a period of one year.

Natalya Belyaeva, deputy head of the business and environmental management committee of Business Russia, told RBC that irrevocable subsidies for 30% of unpaid bills are a “gift” to the state of the trash industry. “If the state plans to support regional operators during the pandemic due to lower incomes, it should also free citizens from the obligation to pay for waste collection for this amount. Otherwise, unjust enrichment is obtained, ”she concluded.

What support measures are requested by operators

In addition to compensating for lost income and privileges on loans, regional operators are asking for other support measures.

The head of the association “Clean Country” (unites regional waste collection operators) Ruslan Gubaydullin in a letter addressed to the Minister of Natural Resources Dmitry Kobylkin (RBC has a copy, Gubaidullin confirmed its authenticity) proposes to compensate operators 100% of unpaid bills by providing subsidies to regional budgets from federal budget (from the reserve fund). He also requested that the “Fundamentals of pricing in the field of solid municipal waste management” include “subsequent disposal of funds received for the repayment of receivables at the disposal of regional operators”.

Provide operators with an interest-free deferral of taxes, including VAT, insurance premiums, fees for negative environmental impacts during the disposal of municipal solid waste, the deadline for which payment is due until December 1, 2020.

Gubaidullin proposes to nullify VAT on the services of regional operators for the treatment of MSW. “It is necessary to establish a zero rate of value added tax not only for regional operators, but also for their contractors, owners of sortings and landfills. Such a measure will reduce tariffs for the population by almost 20%, ”said RBC in the press service of REO.

To amend the decree of the chief state sanitary inspector on the approval of sanitary and epidemiological rules and norms so as to be able to extend the period of waste accumulation in containers above seven days, regardless of the average daily temperature, as agreed with the state sanitary doctors.

RBC sent a request to the press service of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In which regions there are risks of garbage collapse

Due to insufficient collection of payments, there are risks of partial or complete cessation of waste management services for 17 regional operators operating in ten regions - Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Yakutia, Tuva, Altai Territory, Vologda, Kemerovo, Orel and Chelyabinsk regions, indicated in a letter to Rumyantsev. The population in these regions is 13.6 million people. The regional operator in Tuva ST MSW last week already suspended due to non-payments; This was the first case in Russia since the beginning of the garbage reform in January 2019.

Without state support in the conditions of low collection of payments, unbalanced tariffs and profit margins of waste management operators of not more than 5%, their financial stability is extremely low, the Russian Environmental Operator indicates in the draft rules on the distribution of subsidies for the industry (the draft is attached to Rumyantsev’s letter to the office government).

According to Gubaidullin, the average collection rate for garbage collection in Russia in 2019 amounted to 79.4%, and in 2020 it can fall by almost half, to 41.53%. At the same time, the share of legal entities that sent operators an installment plan for the payment of waste removal due to suspension of their activities (due to coronavirus), and also reported the inappropriateness of providing such a service to them, is on average 29.4% in the country. In some regions, this figure reaches 90%. The accounts receivable of regional operators in the industry as a whole is 33.8% of revenue.

“Only the first week of quarantine showed a three-fold decrease in the revenue of regional operators. At the same time, the volume of waste in residential sectors increased by 25% and no one exempted the company from compulsory payments - leasing and loan payments, salary payments, purchase of fuel and spare parts, ”adds Polina Vergun, chairman of the waste management industry reform committee of the Opora Rossii.

“Thus, it can be stated that within three months in certain regions there is a risk that regional operators will cease to carry out their activities, which will negatively affect the environmental situation in them,” concludes Gubaidullin.

Source: https://www.rbc.ru/