Is it possible to revive the collection of glass containers in Russia, the State Duma explained

In Russia, there is the collection and processing of glass containers, but only locally. The reasons and methods for solving the problem were told by the deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on ecology and environmental protection Nikolai Valuev.

Separate collection of waste, recycling and recycling of garbage are actively developing all over the world. First of all, in order to reduce the level of harmful human influence on nature and the environment. And also in some cases, in order to reduce costs, optimize production or even create some completely new unique products. Last year, the Cambridge Dictionary even recognized upcycling (secondary use) as the word of the year.

With glass containers, as with a separate type of waste, a full cycle of reception and further use or processing is also configured. In some countries, this has already become a full-fledged culture, and has become part of everyday life. For example, in Germany, products in glass containers are not subject to an additional mark-up for the container itself - the buyer pays only for the goods inside, and after use returns the container back to the store or to one of the processing centers.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology and Environmental Protection Nikolai Valuev agrees that the collection of glass containers is obviously a useful and correct exercise. In a conversation with an iReactor correspondent, Valuev told how this is developing in our country and what is needed in order to make glass containers the same everyday and mundane occupation as in other countries. But first of all, the deputy separately emphasized why the collection of glass containers is important .

“Any waste (and glass packaging is waste) in this case will either appear on the landfill, replenishing the mountains of garbage, respectively, or go to recycling, thereby making it possible to produce new glass and, accordingly, goods from it,” Valuev.

The politician separately emphasized that recycled glass actually produces a huge amount of new goods, the production of which requires glass. In this case, cullet is used, which in turn saves natural resources and does not pollute the environment (not only by the absence of glass itself in landfills, but also due to the fact that cullet production itself is cleaner for furnaces that emit less nitric oxide and dioxide carbon). Also, cullet, obviously, is much cheaper.

However, recycling is not the only way to use assembled glass containers. As already mentioned above, glass containers, like some other types of waste, can be reused in its original form, without turning into a cullet. Roughly speaking, dishes are simply washed, cleaned and reused. In this case, even less resources and resources are spent than in processing, not to mention the creation of new jobs. Therefore, it is not surprising that reuse was preferable in the USSR - there are not so many glassworks in the country (and those that are, are concentrated mainly in the central regions), and the need for glass is huge .

Today, Russia continues to actively try to revive the collection of glass containers, and it even succeeds. Let it slowly, uncertainly, but the issue is gradually being resolved. Valuev noted that in some regions where the collection of glass containers is organized locally, everything works very well and efficiently.

“In Russia, glass is recycled. Although the separate collection was simply stopped for the duration of the pandemic: now all one hundred percent of the garbage goes to landfills. But where this collection is organized, it is organized well. But, in general, it is quite local to the regions ", - the deputy shared.

One of the main reasons why the collection of glass containers in our country is still not organized in large quantities is the lack of such a culture. People simply do not understand why and why they need it. And those who are at least interested in this issue are completely few. Yes, the government is trying to support the collection of glass containers, and we already have several glass recycling plants. But, as Valuev shared, he personally came to some of these plants and watched how they experienced a lack of volumes of collected waste.

Therefore, until people begin to understand what it is and why they need it, they won’t be able to build any system, there will be only a few enthusiasts trying to extend the problem on their shoulders. Valuev also emphasized that the organization of these processes plays an important role. After all, organizing the collection of glass containers at the scale of a district or even a city is one task with their own methods of its implementation, and to do the same, but at the national level are completely different problems. Help, according to the deputy, can change the pricing policy by the state.

"First of all, it is necessary to interest the regional operator in this. To make the tariff unprofitable on the amount of garbage that it carries. This is one of the main reasons why separate collection of garbage in Russia is slowed down," Valuev summed up.

In addition, a set of measures aimed at educating the population should also be introduced. And if the local regional authorities in each region see that people are really concerned about this problem, that for them it really is a question that needs to be addressed. Then, of course, the collection of glass containers will begin to develop more actively.

Source: https://inforeactor.ru/