Nearly a month of ignoring direct requests from journalists, a complete lack of any action even after receiving a comprehensive package of evidence, and a formal "we'll do it" in response to a repeated demand – that was the response of the Ministry of Ecology to reports of an illegal dump in Koyandy.
That same dump which the FBRK editorial team had been investigating since December of last year.
The environmental situation surrounding the landfill near the village of Koyandy in the Tselinograd district of the Akmola Region continues to remain under the close scrutiny of journalists and the public.
According to media reports, the owners of former quarries have turned them into illegal dumps, charging a fee of 3,500 tenge per garbage truck. The scale of the environmental disaster has been confirmed by drone footage.
On 26 March 2025, a representative of Baimedia directly approached the Minister of Ecology, Yerlan Nysanbayev, with a question about the measures being taken. The Minister admitted that he did not have the information regarding this specific landfill, but promised to conduct an inspection. He also asked the journalists to share the materials they had and pass them on to the ministry's press service.
However, almost a month later, on 15 April, the journalist had to again approach the head of the ministry, pointing out the failure to keep promises. Despite the fact that all necessary documents and materials had been handed over to the ministry, no visible action was taken. In response to the repeated request, the minister replied laconically: "No problem on this issue".
A more detailed comment was given by the Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection, Yerbolat Kozhikov, who stated that the issue was in the process of being resolved: necessary investigations had been carried out, and the case had been sent to court. The entrepreneur Marushchak and other private individuals have been named as defendants in the case.
It is worth noting that the problem of the illegal dump near the village of Koyandy is not new. Back in December 2024, the FBRK editorial staff published an investigation into the activities of Zero Waste LLP — the new waste collection operator in Astana. At the time, the editorial team obtained a video recording showing the company's garbage trucks dumping waste in a quarry near Koyandy instead of at the waste processing plant.
A subsequent investigation revealed a chain of intermediaries. In October 2024, Zero Waste entered into a contract for receiving solid domestic waste with Sole Trader 'Marushchak Vitaly Viktorovich', who had leased the plot from the entrepreneur Yerlan Ryskulov. At the same time, Sole Trader Marushchak did not have the necessary permits or environmental expertise.
The history of the land plot itself is also noteworthy. Initially, the land, covering 40 hectares, was indivisible and intended for agricultural production. The plot was allocated to Arka-Zher-1 LLP for the creation of a sanitary protection green zone for Astana.
Over four years, the status of the plot changed radically. After Ryskulov acquired the land, the akimat of the Tselinograd district permitted a change in its designated use to "storage, sorting, processing of construction and household waste". In 2024, the plot was divided into ten parts of varying sizes and purposes.
In this story, the environmental authorities of the Akmola Region and Astana took opposing positions. While the regional ecology department found violations and drew up an administrative report, the capital's administration declared the landfill legal, calling it an "alternative point" for receiving solid domestic waste.
The case of the landfill near Koyandy clearly demonstrates how the ecological agency works: to react only when there is a threat of a public scandal, and to delay resolving obvious problems.
Even when all the facts are handed to them by journalists 'on a silver platter', the ministry spends a month pretending nothing is happening. This approach allows violators to continue causing damage to the environment, turning agricultural land into rubbish dumps.
The FBRK editorial team will continue to monitor developments surrounding the landfill near the village of Koyandy and keep readers informed about whether the ministry's promises will finally translate from words into real action.
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