Russian Legislation and Protection from Production and Consumption Waste Pollution

Аннотация

The article discusses legal issues involved in protecting environment from pollution by waste generated by production and consumption; it explains problems are common to most post-Soviet states. Waste from production and consumption is a global problem and requires solutions at an international level. The article builds on studies of the legal basis for managing waste in order to avert harmful effects on human health and environment, as well as to keep that waste circulating in the economy as an additional source of raw materials. The authors analyze effectiveness of administrative methods for preventing pollution and elucidate the differences in the powers of federal, regional and local authorities in these matters. They conclude that all the authorities should improve coordination of their efforts to protect environment from all types of waste. The article provides an assessment of municipal solid waste management reform, often referred to as “waste reform”, that came into force in Russia on 1 January 2019. This reform attempted a radical change in the principles and methods for collecting, sorting, processing and disposing of waste. It also envisaged creating a new household culture in society and improving environmental well-being. The authors critique content of the reform and note both its positive and negative aspects. One significant drawback is the high cost of this reform, which is borne mainly by population at large, and is producing vigorous popular discontent. The negative financial consequences of the reform for citizens can be reduced by arranging an effective system of environmental payments, including payments for pollution from production and consumption waste following the principle that polluter should pay. In Russia, economic regulation for preventing environmental pollution from production and consumption waste is centered on setting fees for negative environmental impacts when disposing of waste and charging recycling and ecological fees that are paid by organizations and individuals. The authors contend that, despite its steady improvement, current system of environmental payments is ineffective in achieving environmental objectives, and they regard the system of environmental payments as primarily a tool of state fiscal policy. To promote low-waste production, fiscal mechanisms for encouraging use of waste and secondary resources should be developed. As things stand, the state is to take responsibility for handling severe environmental degradations affecting a number of regions in the Russian Federation due to pollution of the environment waste from production and consumption. Specific public authorities are empowered to arrange the regulatory framework in these matters, to organize effective control over law enforcement, and to provide administrative and financial monitoring of state environmental programs.