The first part of the article by Oleg Ignatyev and Andrei Shikhaleev was published in the "Municipal Solid Waste" Magazine

Over the last decades, humanity has been struggling with the problem of waste, which has become truly global and can lead to soil, air and water pollution, the spread of epidemics, and can make our planet uninhabitable. Garbage crises are erupting in Russia and around the world, while the amount of waste generated continues to grow.

By now, great efforts have been made to solve the waste problem. Environmentally hazardous landfills are being replaced by complexes where useful fractions are selected for recycling, selected organics are composted, and only safe tailings go to landfills. Other countries with more developed waste management systems have introduced separate collection, which, together with other approaches, reduces landfilling to zero.

Nevertheless, despite the measures taken, the problem of waste is still an enormous threat to people and our planet. In this regard, it is reasonable to pay attention to the history of the development of waste management systems. The man has passed a long way from cesspools to modern waste sorting complexes, changed his attitude to waste, realized the importance of its utilization and processing. Analysis of this path will allow us to see the mistakes of past generations, evaluate them from the point of view of accumulated experience, reflect and take into account in the future - when building a waste management system in Russia.

The article was originally published in the "Municipal Solid Waste" Magazine, November, 2023.