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A ban on burying plastic, waste paper and glass will enter into force in Kazakhstan next year, Kazakh Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said at a government meeting, Kazinform reported.

In order to increase the processing of solid waste, a separate collection of waste is being introduced and conditions are being created for the development of this segment when raising private investments through a public-private partnership. A regulatory legal framework has been created and is being improved. The Environmental Code has been amended on waste management.

In particular, since 2016, burying mercury-containing lamps and instruments, scrap metals, waste oils and liquids, batteries and electronic waste at landfills has been banned.

On January 1, 2019, the ban on burying plastic, waste paper, cardboard and waste paper, glass comes into force.

Since January 1, 2021, the ban on burying construction and food waste comes into force, the minister added.

The concept on the transition of Kazakhstan to a “green” economy provides for bringing the share of waste recycling to 40 percent by 2030 and to 50 percent by 2050. Every year, 5-6 million tons of household waste emerge in Kazakhstan, according to the Energy Ministry. For the eight months of 2018, about 3.2 million tons of household waste have accumulated in Kazakhstan.

About 330,000 tons of this amount, or 10.5 percent of the total volume, were recycled and disposed of. This figure was 9 percent in 2017 and 2.6 percent in 2016.

“At the same time, a high rate of household waste processing is observed in Almaty region (24.1 percent), while administrations of Pavlodar (0.1 percent), Mangystau (1.7 percent), Akmola, East Kazakhstan, Kostanay, Kyzylorda, West Kazakhstan (3-4 percent) regions should intensify work in this direction,” Bozumbayev said.

Presently, there are more than 130 plants in Kazakhstan engaged in sorting and processing waste, as well as manufacturing more than 20 types of products.

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