Akim (mayors) of nine rural districts in the North Kazakhstan Region have been fined for failing to clear illegal rubbish dumps. In total, 116 unauthorised landfills were identified in the region last year.
As reported by Kazinform News Agency citing the North Kazakhstan Region Department of Ecology, relevant letters were sent to district and city akimats (municipal offices) regarding these matters.
"Only 91% of the total number of violations have been eliminated. Fines totalling more than 221,000 tenge were imposed against the akims of nine rural districts who did not take action", the statement said.
For instance, in 2021, the department discovered an illegal landfill covering an area of 8 hectares in the Beskol Rural District. As a result, the akim was fined 87,500 tenge.
At the same time, the specialised inter-district economic court of the North Kazakhstan Region ruled that the akim must restore the environment and clear the landfill within two months; however, no action was taken by the local authorities. The court set a new deadline of 1 June this year for the removal of the dump.
Furthermore, the problem of a rubbish dump near the village of Baiterek in the Kyzylzhar District remains unresolved. According to experts, the unauthorised landfill is located 13 km from the territory of the Petropavlovsk airport.
"According to paragraph 4 of Article 90 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan 'On the Use of the Airspace of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Aviation Activities', the placement of landfills within a radius of 13 kilometres from an airport is prohibited. This is because landfills can cause large accumulations of birds, which creates a danger to aircraft", the statement said.
It will be recalled that in January it became known that the new capital city's waste removal operator, Zero Waste LLP, was at the centre of an environmental scandal. It was reported that the company uses a chain of intermediaries to transport municipal waste to an unprepared quarry, with the responsibility for the illegal landfill placed on the landowner rather than the waste collection company.