Food producers in Russia will be obliged to pay for the processing of expired goods. Thus, it is planned to amend the government decree No. 1589-r, which lists wastes, the disposal of which is prohibited. The changes are expected to take effect from January 2022.
The amendments are being prepared by a working group created by the government. It is assumed that expired products will be included in the list of waste that will be prohibited from dumping. It is clarified that these measures will affect food products in packages that were not in demand in retail.
According to Lyudmila Manitskaya, head of the Board of the Dairy Union, it is necessary to differentiate the rates of environmental tax depending on the complexity of packaging processing. "The more complex the packaging is processed, the higher the environmental fee should be," the expert explains. In addition, Lyudmila Manitskaya proposes to determine the increase in eco-harvest rates in three, five and seven years. "This is necessary so that there is no sharp jump in prices for goods and packaging," the expert added.
Another proposal of the Dairy Union is to establish a standard for the disposal of food waste in packaging, which after several years should reach 100%. "Targets for reaching this target should be different for different types of waste. For example, with regard to waste in packaging made of plastic or cardboard, for which there are proven technologies, the period for reaching 100% will be shorter, and the period for recycling multi-component packaging will be longer. This approach will allow to give a margin of time to create recycling facilities, as well as to establish an effective separate collection system, for example, in retail," says Lyudmila Manitskaya. Otherwise, according to the expert, the business will face financial losses, and the production capacity for waste disposal may not be enough.
Meanwhile, according to Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia estimates, the existing landfills in Russia will be enough for the next three to five years, while food waste occupies half of the territory there.
Every year, up to 17 million tons of food waste is generated in the country, which are sent to landfills, rot, emit hydrogen sulfide and methane, which often leads to fires.
Based on meatinfo.ru.
