"No. More. Trash." recycling in Russia

"Musora.Bolshe.Net" is a public organization, which grew out of private initiative in 2004. There are currently 30 centers in 20 cities in Russia and the CIS, HQ is located in St. Petersburg.

"Musora.Bolshe.Net“ recently became one of the first green companies to be listed in OboMnenie’s brand new database EcoShop which offers Russians information on where they can find green products and services.  It's the only database of this kind in Russia at this time.  In addition to local businesses, EcoShop also allows foreign manufacturers of green products to find market in Russia by listing their products for Russian-speaking distributors and importers to see.

Q: In Europe people take recycling very seriously. Not only do the individuals pay, but they also carefully sort their trash and dump it in specially provided containers. One will never see people throwing something on the streets. What is the situation in Russia?

Y: It is totally different, the average person is not concerned about waste and sorting it, they simply don’t care about garbage disposal. There are however, activists, students and the younger generation in particular who are interested in changing.

Q: Please tell me more about your business, what is your mission? Out of which motivation was the company founded?

Y: The main aim is to change people’s attitudes and approach towards nature but it is really in its infancy. The government doesn’t have projects in place yet. That’s why it is difficult. Everything is based on volunteers. The main mission of the organization is to change the attitude towards the problem of litter at all levels of public consciousness, from ordinary citizens to government employees. The goal is to solve the issues of the ever growing landfills, pollution, and construction of processing plants. And most importantly, the root cause of the above is the lack of cultural understanding and respect of their own habitat. The organization is the recipient of many awards and competitions, including "Our Town" (2007) and "National Public Award for volunteering" (2008).

Our mission is about zero waste and that waste is a valuable resource. There are many company objectives to clean it up. I joined the company 3 years ago. Some of the activities and projects we are involved in are „garbage is our mission“ - to remove all trash before 17.09.2011 in the Leningrad region.
- Planting trees in the city, helping Russians to breathe easier.
- Planting of forests. The new direction that we started in 2009.

My personal motivation:  when I read about the company first, I thought it  was great to do something for nature and I am passionate about making a change and I wanted to be part of this movement.

Q: What is the recycling strategy in Russia?

Y: First of all, awareness needs to be created. People don’t have a habit of separating their waste, it is not in the Russian mind. The company employs  people to sort out the waste, they are mostly volunteers. Also, every month different actions/programs are put into place. e.g. to clean places around lakes. Volunteers and people who are in the neighborhood will help out. We try to motivate people to help and show them that waste can be used as a secondary resource and that it is not „just“ waste. For example, one of our projects was an exhibit of products made from waste. Also, on September 11, 2010, over 50 tons of garbage was collected in a mass cleaning trash action in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Through the internet and various web portals and word-of-mouth and former University classmates, we were able to recruit volunteers.

The volunteers are separated into groups with one leader. The group leaders connect with each other and then they reach out to the volunteers. Once the trash is collected, it is sorted and one part is used for recycling.

Q: Previously, trash was simply dumped into specially designated areas outside the city. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, only 30 percent of total waste - 3.5 billion tons a year - is recycled or processed. As for municipal waste, only 5 percent is recycled. Without the help of residents sorting domestic waste, it isn’t easy to improve on this figure.  What measures could be taken?  What type of model could be a realistic approach to implementing a recycling strategy?

Y: Unfortunately, not everybody will do this and some elderly people in Russia have a habit to collect useless and old things, e.g. furniture, clothing. They keep all these things because trash is trash, totally useless. Young people don’t care about nature,  they are ignorant. A lot of youngsters are really interested in making a change and most of them are students, activists and school organizations. Another project in place is Ekoblok.This project is to establish a platform to sort waste at the container site for residential homes. People tolerate unsorted waste at the construction site or in the garbage disposal. On the container floor, sealable containers have been installed to sort selected secondary waste resources. Mixed waste incurred by tenants will add valuable secondary resources which are held in a lockable container handled by subcontractor. Residents who want to collect garbage separately, have the opportunity and will see that they have contributed towards a value add.

Q: Have the Russians  been sensitized to the fact that recycling can be turned into a profitable business?

Y: It is hard for them to believe that recycling can be turned into a profitable business. It is a new idea for them and they will start understanding in approx. 5 years.

Q: Are Russians being taught simple ethics concerning recycling?

Y: Yes, I certainly hope so, hopefully the younger generation will be paying attention to nature and most volunteers are students or activists and are on a mission to make a change.

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