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"Does not comply with the Swedish waste management practices." Conclusions of Sweco experts after visiting a landfill near Shies station in the Arkhangelsk region
Ingrid Håstad, an expert of the architectural-technical company Sweco International AB from Stockholm, prepared a report after visiting a construction landfill site at Shies station in the Arkhangelsk region. The expert, together with colleagues at Sweco, visited Shies on March 29 to evaluate the technologies that are planned to be used at the site, and to compare them with Swedish waste management practices. The online journal presents Håstad's theses.
How experts collected information
Experts made conclusions about the site on the basis of official materials presented by the Moscow mayor's office and on-site visual impressions. They talked to local activists who are against the government and studied the official presentation of Ecotechnopark, the contractor of the works.
Sweco was unable to obtain information from representatives of the construction company Ecotechnopark or another commercial individual at the station. The experts visited only the sites on the landfill with no active construction work. They did not succeed in visiting the sites where materials are stored and unloaded and where active construction was being carried out.
How experts evaluated waste management in Shies
Håstad concluded that the landfill under construction does not provide for "an adequate sorting of waste before its destruction." According to the Swedish recycling policy, only waste that cannot be recycled is disposed.
“The construction of a new, safe disposal option for mixed household waste is not in line with best Swedish practice, since it represents the least preferred waste management option in accordance with the waste hierarchy. Landfills should only be used for wastes that cannot be reused, recycled or recovered.”
Sweco concluded that a relatively safe disposal of waste at the landfill can occur only with proper construction with a sufficient bottom layer, wastewater treatment system, a system for collecting and processing gas from the landfill. For safe work, it is also necessary that qualified personnel of the landfill should work there, and Rosprirodnadzor should supervise the work.
What experts think about construction transparency
During a trip to Shies, the experts were unable to inspect the construction site due to security. The representatives of the company Sweco had the impression that the construction is not transparent, and the locals are not informed about the progress of the work. This, too, follows from the conclusion of Håstad, contrary to Swedish practice, where the construction of such facilities requires mandatory public participation.
Sweco did not receive information on the sorting and compacting of waste, on the part of the waste that should be disposed, on what materials were used during the construction of the landfill, and on the ownership of the waste and its place of burial.
Since the experts could not see the construction site, they could not draw any conclusions about the groundwater level. If the area on which the landfill is built is marshy, then the groundwater may be contaminated.
“Sweco has the impression that the construction company and other organizations involved in this process do work in a non-transparent manner and that the information provided to local residents and other interested parties is minimal,” the report says.
If you want to read the conclusion of Ingrid Håstad, you can write a letter to the address: [email protected]
In July 2018, in the Lenskoy district of the Arkhangelsk region, at the Shies railway station, the Moscow company Technopark began construction of a landfill site for the needs of Moscow and the Moscow region with an area of 5,000 hectares. The public of the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic opposed the importation of Moscow garbage. People began to protest. The most massive anti-trash actions took place on December 2, February 3 and April 7 — tens of thousands of people took part in them.
At the end of December 2018, opponents of the landfill opened an eco watch at the Shies station. On the night of March 14-15, activists had a conflict with the builders. The police opened a criminal case on the fact of causing moderate injuries to excavator driver Alexey Kozlov, who began moving the trailers of activists with a bucket. The defendants in the criminal case were the opponents of the construction of the site Valery Dzyuba, Vyacheslav Grigoryants and Andrey Starkovsky.
Denis Strelkov, Katerina Klepikovskaya, "7x7"