Opportunities and Challenges of Transitioning to a Circular Economy Model in Russian Regions

P. 291–297.

Larchenko L. V., Paranina A., Kulachinskaya A., Kuramshina L.

Currently, there are more than 14 000 authorized waste disposal sites in the Russian Federation. About 500 000 hectares of land resources are removed annually from economic turnover for landfill creation. However, it is projected that by 2024, seven major regions will run out of free space for landfill placement. In addition, the influence of the operation of landfills on the state of the environment and public health is obvious. It incites strongly negative feelings in the country’s population. It is clear that the solution to the problem of municipal solid waste is associated with the transition to the circular economy model, which is based on the use of recycled materials. Using the Arkhangelsk region as an example, a second attempt was made to comprehensively analyze the possibilities and challenges of implementing this model in Russia. In 2019–2020 based on the materials of a survey, we evaluated the level of population readiness to separate garbage collection. The survey was conducted online, through the Internet. As a result of the study, the main barriers to the advancement of the new model are described: technological, economic, regulatory and psychological. We have demonstrated that for the implementation of the circular economy model in the Russian regions it is necessary to create infrastructure and comfortable facilities for separate garbage collection for every citizen. The development of citizens’ environmental consciousness and the level of environmental education of decision-makers can play an important role in the implementation of the circular economy model.

Keywords: Russian regions

In book

Proceedings of ICEPP 2021: Efficient Production and Processing

Cham: Springer, 2022.