Prosecutors in the Akmola Region have secured a reduction in tariffs for the removal of solid household waste (SHW) in Kosshy.
According to the press service of the department, Kosshy is located within a 30-kilometre zone of the Astana International Airport, where it is prohibited to establish waste storage sites.
"The contractor was transporting SHW to the Astana city landfill, which is more than 50 km from the city of Kosshy. At the same time, the costs for sorting and burying SHW were unreasonably included in the tariff instead of the costs for transporting SHW to the Astana landfill and paying for its reception," the statement reads.
Following a supervisory order from the Kosshy prosecutor's office, the authorised body reduced the tariff for individuals (from 532 to 482 tenge) and legal entities (from 575 to 527 tenge).
It is noted that the total savings for 37,000 consumers amounted to 22.2 million tenge per year.
Recall that in March, Senate Deputy Zakirjan Kuziev called the information from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources on waste sorting in Kazakhstan "drawn up on paper". He also criticised the Ministry of Ecology and local administrations (Akimats) for preferring to create huge landfill sites instead of processing waste.
In early October, eco-activists from Balkhash demanded stricter punishment for those who dump rubbish in unauthorised places. According to them, local residents and organisations that do not want to pay for disposal at the landfill are littering the outskirts of the city.
For example, on the outskirts of Balkhash, they discovered plastic seating that had previously been used at the stadium. They belonged to the city's sports department. The contractor who carried out their replacement was found and held accountable.
In November, a video was sent to the FBRK anonymous bot showing garbage trucks from the company Zero Waste LLP – the new waste removal operator in Astana – dumping waste in an unauthorised location.
According to the author, instead of taking the waste to a recycling plant, it is being taken to a quarry near the village of Koyandy, thereby creating an illegal dump. The FBRK editorial team has investigated the activities of the Zero Waste company. You can read more about it via the link.