Electronic and halite waste in Belarus
One of the main environmental problems in Belarus, like in many other countries, is the accumulation of waste. Over the past 5 years, more than 60 million tons of waste have been produced annually in the republic. In 2021, the amount reached 62.2 million tons, which is 1.7% more than in the previous year. At the same time, the nature and composition of waste are diverse: about 1400 types with a wide range of morphological and chemical properties. Traditionally, the garbage bins of Belarusians are dominated by “organics” — food waste and vegetation from courtyards.
Mountains of rubbish
Some part of waste is reused, some is neutralized, but the bulk is still buried at the country's landfills. In 2021, there were 166 large and 90 mini landfills in Belarus. The largest mountain of household waste, with the height of a 20-storey building, has grown in Homiel’. Landfills directly or indirectly affect human health and the environment. When waste decomposes, methane and carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide are released into the air, and during incineration — dioxins, furans, phenols, chlorophenols and other toxic and carcinogenic substances. Salts of heavy metals penetrate into water and soil. That is why the improvement of the waste management system in Belarus is recognized as one of the priority problems in the field of environmental protection.
Timelapse of urn loading
How waste is collected and sorted
Belarus organizes the collection and processing of secondary material resources (SMR), which are part of municipal solid waste. Under current legislation, paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, old household appliances, batteries, used tires, used motor oils and energy-saving lamps must be reused for the same purpose or returned after recycling to the production cycle.
The collection of SMR is carried out through a system of collection points (about 1,700 throughout the country) and by placing special containers, which have recently been installed in small towns. Next comes the sorting of mixed municipal solid waste at sorting lines (about 90) and at waste processing plants (there are 7 of them in the country).
The collection of SMR is carried out through a system of collection points (about 1,700 throughout the country) and by placing special containers, which have recently been installed in small towns. Next comes the sorting of mixed municipal solid waste at sorting lines (about 90) and at waste processing plants (there are 7 of them in the country).
429 organizations of housing and communal services, consumer cooperation, OAO Belresursy, as well as private enterprises and individual entrepreneurs work in the SMR collection system. In addition, more than 170 mobile collection points are used.
The SMR management system in Belarus is evolving each year, acquiring new participants and ways of processing (recycling). Due to the increase in collection volumes, the level of involvement in the recycling of municipal waste is 31%, while in 2012 this figure was only 10%. Thus, over the past 10 years, the involvement has tripled. For example, today polymer and glass waste is collected almost 3 times more than 8 years ago. And yet there are types of waste that are far from being handled as successfully. These are mercury-containing, medical and electronic waste.
The SMR management system in Belarus is evolving each year, acquiring new participants and ways of processing (recycling). Due to the increase in collection volumes, the level of involvement in the recycling of municipal waste is 31%, while in 2012 this figure was only 10%. Thus, over the past 10 years, the involvement has tripled. For example, today polymer and glass waste is collected almost 3 times more than 8 years ago. And yet there are types of waste that are far from being handled as successfully. These are mercury-containing, medical and electronic waste.
Electronic waste
Electronic waste includes used mobile phones, TVs and other household appliances, as well as any goods that have a battery or plug.
In Belarus, one of the largest organizations for the collection, processing, disposal of electronic and electrical equipment, batteries, LED and mercury-containing lamps is OAO BelVTI.
Photo by the author of the project
The company has been operating since 1974. Initially, it specialized in the extraction of precious metals from household appliances, but after Decree No. 313 “On Certain Issues of Handling Consumer Waste” dated July 11, 2012, aimed at actively involving SMRs in economic circulation, creating a special operator and material incentives for processing enterprises, it significantly expanded the list of accepted waste.
Charging elements
Since 2015, BelVTI began collecting charging elements in special containers, and later processing them. This includes batteries, rechargeable batteries and lithium-ion batteries.
Photo by the author of the project
About 170 tons of batteries are collected per year. And these are only those that were officially transported by importers with the payment of deductions for imported goods. But still a huge amount of batteries comes with toys, control panels and other products.
Photo by the author of the project
Recycling starts with sorting. The most dangerous types of batteries are manually separated: nickel-cadmium, containing mercury and lead, and lithium batteries. So far, they are only being accumulated and stored, and in the future, they will be transferred to highly specialized recycling enterprises. About 80% of the collected batteries are salt and alkaline (AA, AAA, C, D, etc.). With the help of special equipment: a shredder (grinder) and a screen (sieves for sifting crushed residues) — the waste is divided into fractions: iron (it contains up to 40% in the battery) and sulfates of zinc, manganese, graphite. Coal-manganese and zinc-containing mixtures are still simply stored on the territory of the enterprise. There are already several project based decisions on how they can be used.
Video: target99.by
Lithium-ion batteries from hybrid and electric vehicles are a new type of electronic waste that Belarus has started collecting. So far, the collected volume is too small to be sent for recycling or to be recycled by ourselves — kilograms have been collected, but hundreds of tons are needed. Lithium-ion batteries can be handed over free of charge at the BelVTI collection points or handed over together with the equipment when ordering a free pickup.
— The number of electric vehicles is increasing all over the world, but there are only a few enterprises for the full recycling of lithium-ion batteries, — says Alexander Dyatko, Deputy General Director of BelVTI. — In fact, recycling is just recovery and reuse. We take the battery, unusable elements are removed and replaced with suitable ones. If now there are only a few such types of waste, then in a few years there will be much more of them. Therefore, we are studying the issue of handling them. For example, BNTU is developing its own method for processing lithium-ion batteries. Let it be just a project for now, we are fully moving towards the creation of our own solutions on their use.
Old household appliances
As for old household appliances, the list of waste items accepted by BelVTI for so many years of practice includes almost all existing ones, both from the population and from production organizations. Most importantly, sometimes people do not understand the value of used equipment. Even small-sized, such as a phone.
Photo by the author of the project
The collection of used devices is carried out by specialized organizations in two ways: at collection points, when people bring them on their own and receive remuneration, or with the help of a special delivery service for such waste from the public and individuals. It is forbidden to throw away old household appliances on the street.
Video by the author of the project
A problematic place in the recycling of devices is their multicomponent composition. After all, each of the components has its own specifics and purpose. From year to year, BelVTI employees work to increase the depth of recycling of such waste, purchase the necessary equipment, extract ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals, various types of plastic, invest in selected projects and solutions.
Video by the author of the project
Plastic in e-waste
For example, they assisted Belarus scientists in the preparation of the study "The content of pollutants in plastic waste from electrical products in Belarus". In the production of plastics, chemicals are used to impart various properties to it: flame retardants, plasticizers, stabilizers, antioxidants, fillers, dyes, etc. Among chemicals, persistent organic pollutants, primarily polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals are of particular concern. Their presence does not allow the reuse of plastic, and this has become the subject of research.
40 plastic samples were taken at Belarusian enterprises. Chemical-analytical tests confirmed the presence of hazardous substances in them. Almost half of the analyzed samples contained bromine and lead. PBDEs were found in 7.5% of the samples, including two plastic parts from CRT TVs.
40 plastic samples were taken at Belarusian enterprises. Chemical-analytical tests confirmed the presence of hazardous substances in them. Almost half of the analyzed samples contained bromine and lead. PBDEs were found in 7.5% of the samples, including two plastic parts from CRT TVs.
Photo by the author of the project
The scientists concluded that a significant portion of the bromine-containing plastic subject to regulation comes from products from countries in East and Southeast Asia. Plastics in electrical and electronic equipment manufactured in the former USSR also contain hazardous substances.
“The limited number of samples analyzed gives only a general idea of the situation with the content of hazardous substances in samples of e-waste plastic. As in other countries, the presence of PBDEs and heavy metals in higher concentrations, as well as the content of other hazardous substances, including those related to persistent organic pollutants, are not excluded,” the conclusion says.
Therefore, people should be more conscious about what to sort and what to throw in a landfill. After all, the components of household appliances may contain substances hazardous to the environment, which must be disposed of in an appropriate way.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are highly toxic, active substances with long life cycle in the environment. Most of them are of artificial origin. POPs affect everything they enter, including human health. They are resistant to decomposition in the environment, are able to travel long distances, accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals, and cause serious illnesses. The most well-known groups of substances in Belarus that are classified as POPs are pesticides and industrial chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as extremely dangerous dioxins and furans, which are formed in the chemical industry as by-products and released during combustion.
This is how persistent organic pollutants are disposed of. Photo by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Belarus
Energy-saving lamps
These include fluorescent (mercury) and LED lighting appliances. To collect them, special containers are installed in stores and shopping centers, or lamps can be brought to the collection points of BelVTI. The main requirement is that the glass flask must be intact.
Of all the lamps, only mercury lamps belong to the first hazard class and require special disposal and special conditions for processing. The following methods are used for the neutralization (demercurization) of mercury-containing waste: mechanical-chemical, thermal vacuum thermal demercurization, thermal with cryocondensation, reagent and hydrometallurgical.
The lamp is divided into components: base, glass, phosphor. The base and glass are recyclable. The phosphor is conserved and handed over to special organizations, which subsequently remove mercury from it. Incandescent, halogen bulbs and LED lamps are safe and do not require the use of special disposal technologies.
Among goods containing mercury, mercury-containing light sources and mercury thermometers account for the largest share. Mercury-containing gas-discharge lamps (GDL) are artificial sources of optical radiation, in which the glow is created from an electric discharge in mercury vapor or in a mixture of gas and vapor.
Fluorescent lamps — these are gas-discharge light sources, the luminous flux of which is determined mainly by the glow of phosphors under the influence of UV radiation from the discharge. They are glass tubes filled with mercury vapor, with a layer of phosphor deposited on the inner surface.
Fluorescent lamps — these are gas-discharge light sources, the luminous flux of which is determined mainly by the glow of phosphors under the influence of UV radiation from the discharge. They are glass tubes filled with mercury vapor, with a layer of phosphor deposited on the inner surface.
“Depending on the technology and type, each fluorescent or special mercury lamp contains from 20 to 300 mg of mercury, in the most common types - from 60 to 120 mg, and in some lamps its amount reaches 350-560 mg. About 2 million units of burnt out fluorescent lamps are formed annually in Belarus. If we assume that on average lamp contains 100–110 mg of mercury, then they contain about 220 kg of mercury,” says the Waste Management research paper.
Nowadays, most of the waste of mercury-containing light sources and fluorescent tubes are neutralized. In Belarus are registered 5 enterprises for their disposal:
- ZAO Ekologiya-121 (Minsk);
- Production and Ecological Limited Liability Company “Postup” (Minsk);
- OAO “Grodno Azot” (Hrodna);
- RUP “SPO Khimvolokno” (Svietlahorsk);
- OAO “Brest Electric Lamp Plant” (Brest).
Many organizations that work both in certain regions and throughout the country can accept on a contractual basis the delivery to neutralization enterprises.
In general, the problem with the disposal of mercury-containing waste generated in production has been technically solved.
Production waste
Among the variety of types production waste occupy a special place. They are formed in the process of economic activity (manufacturing of products, energy, performance of work, provision of services), as well as the extraction and enrichment of minerals. A huge list in the classifier indicates that these are completely different in chemical composition, state of aggregation and nature of origin. Of these, experts consider unsuitable pesticides, PCBs (PCB-containing equipment), mercury-containing and large-tonnage halite waste to be the most problematic. Let's dwell on the latter in more detail.
Large-tonnage halite waste
Photo: bestbelarus.by
Halite waste is a by-product in the production of potash fertilizers. They account for more than half (55%) of the total mass of waste generated in the country. About 80% of the ore mined from the depths after processing goes to the dump in the form of halite waste, clay-salt sludge and brines. For 1 ton of the finished product, 2.5–3 tons of slag is formed, the main component of which is sodium chloride. In the world, hundreds of millions of tons of salt dumps have accumulated near all potash enterprises, which occupy vast territories. The same amount is occupied by clay-salt sludge.
Large-tonnage waste also includes phosphogypsum — a “by-product” of manufacturing phosphate fertilizers and overburden. In the production of 1 ton of phosphoric acid, 4.3 tons of such waste is generated.
In 2021 alone, Belarus accumulated 42.28 million tons of halite waste and clay-salt sludge, 918.13 thousand tons of phosphogypsum and about 4 million tons of overburden.
In 2021 alone, Belarus accumulated 42.28 million tons of halite waste and clay-salt sludge, 918.13 thousand tons of phosphogypsum and about 4 million tons of overburden.
Main culprits
The main sources of large-tonnage waste are OAO Belaruskali (halite) and the Gomel Chemical Plant (phosphogypsum). They are stored in specialized landfills, which, firstly, occupy vast territories, and secondly, do not safeguard from leakage of decay products into the environment.
Photo: soligorsk-info.com, planetabelarus.by
For example, at the Starobin potash deposit in the Salihorsk district of the Minsk region, only sylvinite is mined and processed. The rest of the mined rock (sand, rock salt, clay, gypsum and other mixtures) is stored nearby. Over 40 years of operation of this deposit, more than 650 million tons of waste were generated, for the storage of which about 1350 hectares are occupied. And this is not the limit: 2000-3000 hectares will be needed for salt dumps and sludge storage facilities for potash production. Landfills grow, turning into real mountains. Today Salihorsk heaps have a height of more than 120 meters!
Photo by Sergey Plytkevich, planetabelarus.by
Phosphogypsum is also dangerous, contains radioactive elements and heavy metals. Currently, 23.9 million tons of this substance are stored in dumps.
Photo: pikabu.ru
— The volume of accumulated waste at storage facilities and on the territory of enterprises exceeded 1327 million tons, — said Alexander Korbut, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus. — Taking into account large-tonnage waste, the main share of waste in the country has hazard class 4, but there is also a significant amount of waste of hazard classes 1-3 (8.5 million tons at the end of 2021) in storage.
Map of salt dumps. Photo: bestbelarus.by
The world's largest exporter, OAO Belaruskali, in the next few years, despite the sanctions, intends to increase production turnover.
“According to forecasts, the production of potash fertilizers by 2025 will increase to 69 million tons, while in 2021 it amounted to 62.3 million tons. A significant share of the potash industry will come from potash production through new mines and expansion projects in the Republic of Belarus, Canada and the Russian Federation. The remainder will cover potash sulphate deposits in Australia, China and Eritrea, as well as new mines in Brazil, Ethiopia and Spain. The main exporters of potassium chloride as of January 2022 are countries such as Canada, the Russian Federation and Belarus. Thus, the production of potash fertilizers in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation provides more than 35% of world production,” says the research work of Belarusian and Russian experts.
Why is large-tonnage waste hazardous?
A distinctive feature of halite and sludge waste is a high (up to 95%) content of easily soluble salts in water. When exposed to atmospheric precipitation, sodium chloride brines are formed and accumulated in waste storage areas, which leads to chemical contamination of soils. Salinization spreads over large areas due to wind and water erosion, as well as salt dust emissions from processing plants.
Photo: bestbelarus.by
During the development of potassium salt deposits, the geological and structural structure of the territory is also disturbed. The open discharge of industrial effluents into surface waters and the filtration of brines into ground waters have led to the formation of extensive haloes of salinization of the hydrosphere. Soil salinization is a serious reason for the decrease in their fertility, impoverishment of the species composition, it complicates the natural processes of self-recovery and self-purification. Despite the applied waterproofing measures for sludge storages, the volume of brine filtration leaks, even according to official data, in some cases reaches hundreds of thousands of cubic meters per year. During the mining of potash ores, more than 35 million tons of chloride salts migrated into groundwater, the depth of groundwater pollution reached 100–120 meters.
Compounds of sulfur, fluorine, phosphorus, strontium, arsenic and other elements found in phosphogypsum are highly reactive and pose a danger to humans, animals, and the plant world. Harmful substances are carried by the wind, together with precipitation penetrate into the atmospheric air, surface and ground waters, soil and vegetation cover, where they accumulate.
Compounds of sulfur, fluorine, phosphorus, strontium, arsenic and other elements found in phosphogypsum are highly reactive and pose a danger to humans, animals, and the plant world. Harmful substances are carried by the wind, together with precipitation penetrate into the atmospheric air, surface and ground waters, soil and vegetation cover, where they accumulate.
Photo by Sergey Plytkevich, planetabelarus.by
No recycling technologies
The problem needs to be solved at the state level, since today there are no technologies for industrial processing and use of large-tonnage waste.
For example, the use of halite waste in Belarus is near 2% of the entire generated volume. Some part of it is used in road and public utilities, in the mining industry. However, the demand of these industries does not exceed 30–35% of the total amount of dumps formed. One of the main areas for the disposal of halite waste has become recycling it into technical or edible table salt.
For example, the use of halite waste in Belarus is near 2% of the entire generated volume. Some part of it is used in road and public utilities, in the mining industry. However, the demand of these industries does not exceed 30–35% of the total amount of dumps formed. One of the main areas for the disposal of halite waste has become recycling it into technical or edible table salt.
By the way, at factories in Italy and France, these types of waste are used as raw materials for the production of table salt (up to 10% of the total). At the Berezniki chemical plant in Russia, brines are prepared from them for the production of soda.
According to the opinion of OAO Belgorkhimprom specialists, it is possible to produce new forms of fertilizers and ameliorants from sludge waste and potash ores. In 2016, at the sylvinite processing plant, they tried to produce a new clay mineralized product according to TU VU 600122610.003-2015, developed by the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. It is included in the composition of fertilizers for industrial crops, accelerated cultivation of wood in plantation-type forests, melioration and restoration of soils contaminated with radionuclides. The product can be used for the installation of impervious screens at municipal waste disposal sites, fire barriers, embankments and layers, foundations in the construction of forest roads.
According to the opinion of OAO Belgorkhimprom specialists, it is possible to produce new forms of fertilizers and ameliorants from sludge waste and potash ores. In 2016, at the sylvinite processing plant, they tried to produce a new clay mineralized product according to TU VU 600122610.003-2015, developed by the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. It is included in the composition of fertilizers for industrial crops, accelerated cultivation of wood in plantation-type forests, melioration and restoration of soils contaminated with radionuclides. The product can be used for the installation of impervious screens at municipal waste disposal sites, fire barriers, embankments and layers, foundations in the construction of forest roads.
- At present OAO Belgorkhimprom is developing new technological schemes for storage and use of potash production waste. It is possible that this will make it possible to reduce the withdrawal of land for storage by 30–40% and reduce the amount of formation of excess brines in the area where such waste is disposed.
The reuse of phosphogypsum did not even exceed 1%. And given how much it is produced, it is necessary not only to develop ways to process this by-product, but also to remove, transport and store in dumps and sludge storages.
Photo by Dmitry Ivanchikov, 35photo.pro
What can be done today to reduce the burden on the environment?
- Carry out underground burial and dissolution of waste with subsequent injection of the resulting brines into underground horizons. The method requires constant monitoring of the state of wells and groundwater.
- Regenerate spent sludge storages and reuse them.
- Eliminate salt dumps at potash mines by pumping the salt-containing waters formed on the area of its bed into the underground aquifer. Carry out land reclamation.
- Develop new storage technologies, including those providing for the joint storage of halite and sludge waste.
- Develop methods for preventing soil salinization during the formation of salt dumps, increasing the efficiency of its waterproofing.