Garbage Maidan did not take place
For several days now, attention has been focused on Volokamsk near Moscow, where a serious conflict is unfolding, and some media outlets are already drawing parallels with the Ukrainian Maidan.
On March 21, more than 50 people were admitted to city hospitals with complaints of nausea and dizziness. Most of the victims are children. The cause of mass illness among people was the release of toxic gases from the nearby Yadrovo landfill, which has been literally poisoning the lives of city residents for a long time.
Taking into account the fact that garbage gas contains such a powerful bouquet as methane, hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, volatile compounds of arsenic, phosphorus, mercury and many other products of biological decomposition, we can confidently talk about a real gas attack, since people began to lose consciousness from the stench that covered the city near Moscow.
According to the regional department of the Ministry of Ecology, the gas release raised the concentration of toxins above a critical level, and the level of hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen dioxide in the air was twice the maximum permissible concentration.
This incident was the last straw that overflowed the cup of patience of the townspeople, especially since the victims of poisoning were mainly children.
On the same day, a spontaneous rally took place in Volokolamsk, to which city residents called Mayor Gavrilov and Governor of the Moscow Region Vorobyov to explain.
Driven to extremes, people harshly scolded officials, demanding to immediately close the Yadrovo landfill.
The hero of the day was the girl caught on video, who showed the governor the nonverbal combination “kirdyk.”
And it was Governor Vorobyov who got off easy, since Mayor Gavrilov, who had the imprudence to smile while communicating with the people, had his sides bruised and his glasses broken by angry townspeople, which is why the father and benefactor of Volokolamsk had to run away and hide in his offices.
Despite Vorobyov’s promise to close the landfill, the protesters set up pickets on the roads leading to Yadrovo so that not a single truck with garbage would break through to the landfill.
As a result, in connection with the garbage scandal, the governor of the Moscow region dismissed the mayor of Volokolamsk Gavrilov from his post, and a state of emergency was introduced at the landfill.
It is reported that two aerosol cannons are currently in use at the landfill to degas and reduce the concentration of toxic and malodorous substances in the air. Representatives of the Volokolamsk public report that waste recovery specialists from Holland have been called in to solve the Yadrovo problem.
The media also report that information about the garbage crisis in Volokolamsk has been brought to the attention of the head of state.
Taking advantage of the miscalculations and mistakes of the local authorities, representatives of the Russian liberal movement have already arrived in Volokolamsk.
One of the first in the thick of events was the recent “presidential candidate” Ksenia Sobchak. It is reported from the ground that Sobchak has clearly been instructed and, in addition to self-promotion, is working on the situation in cooperation with local authorities.
In addition to Sobchak, hype tours Moscow - Volokolamsk opened in bulk. On social networks, they distribute among themselves a leaflet “how to get up your ass early in the morning and get to the place where the protest is taking place.” There is an opinion that the navalnyats are planning to leave due to the scandal in the next municipal elections.
Recent reports from Volokolamsk indicate that the local and regional authorities have understood everything correctly and have finally begun to solve the problem, moving from promises to real deeds.
People are gradually calming down and moving from rallies to self-organization in order to control the actions of the authorities. A video has appeared in which Navalny people who have come to the city in large numbers are trying to reignite the fire around the landfill, but they hear in response “why do we need radicals” and “your Navalny is not needed here.”
It is being reported from the ground that Navalny, who had previously been escalating on Twitter, tried to travel to Volokolamsk by car, but never made it to the city. Witnesses saw his car waiting for something on the side of the road at the entrance to the city, after which the car turned around and drove back to Moscow. The garbage revolution did not take place.
At the moment, Governor Vorobyov has made a decision to evacuate children from the city. It is expected that people affected by the gas release will be examined by doctors in the capital.
Of course, Governor Vorobyov bears his share of responsibility for the fact that he did not immediately do anything to improve the environment in the vicinity of Volokolamsk. As far as we know, the problem arose back in 2008, when retired General Gromov was governor of the Moscow region.
Until 2008, the Yadrovo landfill was a regional-scale landfill and Volokolamsk dealt with the incoming waste flow on its own. But 10 years ago, the landfill was privatized, other nearby landfills were closed, and garbage from Moscow and other areas of the Moscow region began to be transported near Volokolamsk. Income and optimization come first!
Over time, the landfill grew to its current size, and the environmental situation was no longer under control. Volokolamsk began to choke.
The starting point of the scandal around the Yadrovo landfill should be considered July 15, 2017, when there was a direct line with President Putin on television. A girl with cancer from Balashikha contacted the president and asked to close the local landfill that caused her illness. The problem was resolved manually and in real time. By order of the president, the girl became a VIP patient, and a couple of days later the garbage dump near Balashikha was closed.
Residents of Volokolamsk, inspired by the example of Balashikha, began to fight their pestilence in April 2017, but these were the first timid attempts. Subsequently, the discontent of the townspeople grew, and demands began to pour in to close the landfill. Since the beginning of 2018, Volokolamsk and nearby villages have been living in a mode of spontaneous rallies.
On March 3, 2018, the first crowded protest of city residents took place, gathering about 5 thousand residents. On March 7, a state of emergency was introduced at the Yadrovo training ground. Indicators of maximum permissible concentrations in the air have already begun to go off scale. On March 11, municipal authorities adopted a plan to improve the environmental situation, which included measures for degassing and constant monitoring of the atmosphere. A decision was made to limit the amount of garbage brought in. On March 21, a gas release occurred, and the situation in the city became critical.
What to do?
It is obvious that Federal Law No. 1998 “On Industrial and Consumption Waste,” adopted in 89, is morally outdated. His main task was to bring out of the shadow activities the ugly system of waste management that had developed in the 1990s, which by that time was controlled at all stages by criminal structures. The law established the rules for control and supervisory activities, compliance with sanitary standards and environmental legislation, but there were no economic indicators or provisions for creating incentives to reduce waste generation, introducing a separate collection system and creating waste processing facilities. The waste was stupidly stored in landfills, and at that time everyone was happy with everything.
Over the past 20 years, the situation has changed greatly, and the volume of garbage in Russia increases by 3% every year. If everything continues in the same spirit, then there will not be enough land for landfills. The future is depicted as a global trash heap on the planet Dessa from the Soviet science fiction film “Through Thorns to the Stars.” Dictator Turanchox, protoplasm, everyone in gas masks...
The threatening gesture of the girl Tanya perfectly demonstrates the childish approach to the problem of “clean up the poop immediately!” Where should I put it away? In order to close Yadrovo, it is necessary to organize another testing site somewhere else where the landscape and road network allow it. And this is not a matter of one day. This always happens with a difficult problem that needed to be solved the day before yesterday.
Unfortunately, the environmental situation around the landfill can only be slightly improved in the near future, but a radical solution will require time and money. Aerosol cannons are good, but they do not fundamentally solve the problem: a rotting ulcer will remain right next to the residents of Volokolamsk for some time. With the arrival of heat, gas formation will increase and it will be necessary to install not two guns, but twelve. Or twenty-two.
It is obvious that it is vital for Russia to solve not only the problems of defense, import substitution and improving the well-being of citizens, but also to deal with garbage along with cleaning the Augean stables. And for this it is necessary to adopt the best practices of other countries and develop appropriate legislation. In many countries around the world, waste recycling has been made a highly profitable business and has been subject to preferential or even zero taxation.
But even this is not enough. It is necessary to change mass psychology and accustom the population to engage in separate waste collection, as is practiced in countries where people do not want to see landfills on the horizon and breathe hydrogen sulfide with mercaptans. Desecrating the beautiful land of Russia is a real crime.
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