The waste sorting line “Sanitarnaya Ochistka” (“Sanitary Cleaning”) of the Oktyabrskoye KZhUP
Alexander and Galina are employees at the waste sorting line “Sanitarnaya Ochistka” (“Sanitary Cleaning”) of the Oktyabrskoye KZhUP. The line is located behind the village of Smykavichy in the Oktyabrsky district of the Gomiel region and it was installed in 2017.
Alexander and Galina
The line is located behind the village of Smykavichy
The working team is quite small — 7 people. There are even fewer permanent employees: there is a high turnover of staff. The line consists of an input hopper, a trailer where workers are located, a conveyor belt and two presses that compact waste paper, plastic, film.
The Sanitary Cleaning section is engaged in the removal of municipal solid waste from residents of apartment buildings and private households in the urban village of Oktyabrsky, as well as the surrounding villages. It is led by master Evgeniy Krukovsky.
The Sanitary Cleaning section is engaged in the removal of municipal solid waste from residents of apartment buildings and private households in the urban village of Oktyabrsky, as well as the surrounding villages. It is led by master Evgeniy Krukovsky.
What is there in this garbage!..
22
paper
93
75
tons
10
tons
He told us about the latest figures for the collection of secondary raw materials for the previous year.
glass
tons
polymers
tires
tons
In the private residential sector, municipal solid waste is collected near each house according to a schedule. Garbage is picked up in the town on Fridays and Saturdays. The collected waste is delivered by garbage trucks to the sorting station, where the selection of secondary raw materials takes place: paper, cardboard, plastic, cullet, PET bottles, cling film, scrap metal. The rest is sent for burial at the landfill, which is located outside the village of Smykavichy.
garbage sites
23
ontainers for mixed waste collection
87
separate collection
83
In the Oktyabrsky district equipped with:
small tanks were handed over to residents of the private sector
1332
It seems that the system is well-established, but the residents of the Oktyabrsky district have not learned how to sort waste by type.
The latest raids carried out in early January 2023 by employees of the local inspectorate for natural resources and environmental protection proved this. Often, mixed waste is thrown into the blue container for glass, and waste paper in the yellow one for PET bottles. Although the need for separate collection is ensured at the legislative level by paragraph 3 of Article 17 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Waste Management”. Violation of these requirements entails the imposition of a fine on an individual in the amount of 5 to 30 basic units (from 60 to 380 dollars in equivalent).
The latest raids carried out in early January 2023 by employees of the local inspectorate for natural resources and environmental protection proved this. Often, mixed waste is thrown into the blue container for glass, and waste paper in the yellow one for PET bottles. Although the need for separate collection is ensured at the legislative level by paragraph 3 of Article 17 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Waste Management”. Violation of these requirements entails the imposition of a fine on an individual in the amount of 5 to 30 basic units (from 60 to 380 dollars in equivalent).
The heroes of our story, Alexander and Galina are familiar with this situation firsthand. Every day they watch the garbage “porridge” being created from organics and recyclables at the sorting site.
“Over the past two years, the volume of garbage has increased 10 times,” says Galina. “I have been working with garbage in one way or another for 16 years. Prior to that, I was in the landscaping team, I cleaned entrance halls. Then I switched to sorting. So, I sort everything that people have thrown away. Now there are a lot of beer bottles, aluminum, plastic ones, bottles from vodka.”
“Yes, there are a lot of beer bottles. People began to drink more,” Alexander adds.
He's been at the sorting station for only six months. Prior to that, he worked as a stove-maker.
“I worked at construction sites. And now I am here. I looked at what and how everything works here, I got acquainted with the team and decided to stay to work on a permanent basis,” says our interlocutor. “Sorting is hard work. All rubbish must be sorted out by hand. And the smells!”
Galina Mikhailovna nods her head and agrees with her colleague, saying that the odors on the line are very strong and extremely unpleasant.
“People cut up a chicken carcass, and the offal gets thrown in a garbage bag! We are obliged to check each bag. You open it — and there it is!” Alexander exclaims.
We ask, what, in his opinion, should be done in this area?
“People used to bury everything near their houses,” Galina helps to answer. “Now the offal, along with recyclables, comes to us.”
And not just that, but many other things. Once, according to Yuri Furs, the director of Oktyabrskoye KZhUP, a gold watch was found on the conveyor line, another time — dollars. Alexander says that he once found a silver ring with a stone in a shell-shaped box. He shows a photo. He admits that he gave the ring to his girlfriend.
Galina smiles, doubting its value. Alexander is convinced that the stone was precious.
In one voice, our heroes claim that there is actually a lot of garbage. They advise people to switch to mesh shopping bags instead of plastic bags, as it was before, and to introduce returnable packaging into use. Manufacturers of goods are advised to think about packaging at the very initial stage so as not to increase the amount of single-use plastic in landfills.
Galina smiles, doubting its value. Alexander is convinced that the stone was precious.
In one voice, our heroes claim that there is actually a lot of garbage. They advise people to switch to mesh shopping bags instead of plastic bags, as it was before, and to introduce returnable packaging into use. Manufacturers of goods are advised to think about packaging at the very initial stage so as not to increase the amount of single-use plastic in landfills.
“It is our fate that we ended up here,” they say. “People usually stay here for a period of time and then leave.”
“But I'm staying. Such a good team, and a place!.. We are generally like in a resort, in nature. In summer there are a lot of flies. Although flies are not actually a problem: they are separate from us,” Alexander smiles.
“But I'm staying. Such a good team, and a place!.. We are generally like in a resort, in nature. In summer there are a lot of flies. Although flies are not actually a problem: they are separate from us,” Alexander smiles.
“I have health problems. I am already 56 years old, not 15. I need to somehow work until retirement. I can’t go anywhere else,” Galina is more realistic in her assessments.