Ermolaeva, Yu.V., Ermolaeva, P.O. & Korunova, V.O. (2025) Waste management in the Russian Federation: reformational dynamics and the latest challenges. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filosofiya. Sotsiologiya. Politologiya – Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. 86. pp. 92103. (In Russian). doi: 10.17223 ...

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://vital.lib.tsu.ru/vital/%20access/manager/Repository/koha:001265761;jsessionid=4429A1D7A2F716ACC304415271CB950B?f0=sm_creator%3A"Корунова%2C+Валерия+Олеговна" (дата обращения 25.12.2025)

Abstract

Based on a secondary analysis of sociological research data, analysis of official data and media publications, as well as the results of a series of interviews with experts (N = 70) and a survey of the population (N = 1,500), the authors analyzed changes in the waste management system in Russia – assessed its current state, identified the main challenges (including challenges pandemics and geopolitical risks), studied the practices of the population in the field of solid municipal waste processing (hereinafter – MSW) and  Sociology prospects for further development of the industry. The collectively collected data indicate that in recent years there have been many incremental changes in this area, triggered by changes in legislation and the decision to close certain large landfills of MSW. As a result, the makings of a cyclical economy began to form in the country: the infrastructure for waste recycling began to emerge, which Russians also gradually began to master. Infrastructural imperfections and the lack of mass systematic information, however, slow down the process of routine public practices in the field of separate waste collection (hereinafter – SWC) and entail additional problems, due to which a significant increase in the volume of useful fractions does not occur. The COVID-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical situation have contributed to this; their consequences have affected, among other things, the introduction and cost of technology, as well as the environmental concerns of Russians. Most experts named the stagnation scenario as the most likely scenario for the development of the industry, according to which constructive changes in this area are not expected in the foreseeable future. To ensure further progress of the country towards the concept of “zero waste” and to consolidate the practices of the SWC, the authors formulated a number of recommendations, including recommendations from experts.

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