Tonnes for the Bin
Waste Industry in Belarus
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The accumulation of waste in Eastern Europe is growing. Although the per capita mu-nicipal waste is still clearly less than in Western Europe, the difference is getting small-er. In Belarus, municipal waste is exclusively stored at disposal sites; there are no garbage incineration facilities. Many disposal sites do not meet modern environmental requirements. They lack, for example, waterproofing that keeps seepage containing heavy metals from reaching the groundwater. Waste separation hardly takes place either. Recyclable containers and yellow sacks are rare; the system of raw material collection works more poorly than properly. If the new waste law, which came into force in 2008, is well implemented, improvement is in sight.
(Osteuropa 4-5/2008, pp. 475–480)