Environmental prosecutors in the Mangystau region have identified an overpricing of waste disposal services in Zhanaozen.
According to the press service of the department, the total cost of these services is calculated by summing all tariffs for waste collection, transportation, sorting, and burial, which are approved by the city maslikhat.
The tariff for city residents amounted to 433.46 tenge, of which 87.87 tenge was charged for waste sorting. However, it is reported that since November 2023, waste sorting has not been carried out in the city.
As a result, more than 152,000 consumers, including 1,556 enterprises, overpaid for services by 117 million tenge.
"Following the act of prosecutor supervision, the collection of the waste sorting tariff has been stopped, and a recalculation of the unjustifiably collected amounts is being carried out", the statement says.
The responsible official from the Zhanaozen akimat has been brought to disciplinary action.
For context, earlier in October, eco-activists from Balkhash demanded harsher penalties for those who dump rubbish in unauthorised places. According to them, local residents and organisations who do not want to pay for disposal at the landfill are littering the city's outskirts.
For example, on the outskirts of Balkhash, they discovered plastic seats previously used at a stadium. These belonged to the city's sports department. The contractor who replaced them was found and held accountable.
In March, Senate deputy Zakirzhan Kuziev called the information from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources about waste sorting in Kazakhstan "drawn on paper". He also criticised the Ministry of Ecology and the akimats for preferring to create huge landfill sites instead of processing waste.