In 2024, the reclamation of six MSW landfills in the Moscow region will be completed

By the end of 2024 in the Moscow region, the reclamation of municipal solid waste landfills in the urban districts of Dmitrov, Serpukhov, Ramenskoye, Yegoryevsk, Kolomna and Shatura will be completed. The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Management of the Moscow Region Tikhon Firsov spoke about this at the conference “The environmental factor in the development of territories and the ESG agenda“, organized by the Kommersant Publishing House.

According to him, the cost of the work is 21 billion rubles. As a result of reclamation, the quality of life will improve for 800 thousand people. In total, 39 MSW landfills have been closed in the Moscow region, of which 21 sites have already been reclaimed in 2017–2023, Mr. Firsov specified. The cost of the work amounted to 35 billion rubles, the effect was felt by 2.3 million people. “There are no complaints about the air,” the minister added.

In addition, Tikhon Firsov spoke about the monitoring system in place since 2019 that allows tracking sources of air pollution, which includes 375 stationary posts and 4 mobile laboratories. “Before, we didn’t understand who the source was. Mobile laboratories and sensors make it possible to detect this. Especially in industrial zones, where there are several participants and it is not clear who the background is coming from,” added Mr. Firsov.

Also speaking at the conference was the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Denis Egorov, who spoke about the regional experience of landfill reclamation, in particular the Black Hole industrial waste dump in Dzerzhinsk. “This is an object that includes 150 chemical compounds. Probably the only thing missing is radioactive substances. Due to the influence of the environment – sunlight and precipitation – it changes its composition every three years,” explained Mr. Egorov.

According to him, a special plant was created in the region, which neutralized waste from the “Black Hole” through high-temperature treatment. By 2021, it was possible to neutralize 54% of the landfill volume, added Mr. Egorov. “But subsequently we were faced with the fact that as the waste was extracted, its calorific value and viscosity increased. The previous contractor went for a redesign, but was unable to prove the technical solutions laid down and ultimately received a negative conclusion from the state examination,” the minister said. At the moment, research work is being carried out on the issue of neutralizing the “Black Hole” at the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University.