Methods and technological schemes for waste management. Technical methods of waste management New definition of the concept of “waste”

Concept and classification of waste

Production and consumption waste– these are the remains of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, other items or products that were formed in the process of production or consumption, as well as goods (products) that have lost their consumer properties.

Hazardous waste– this is waste that contains harmful substances that have hazardous properties (toxicity, explosion hazard, fire hazard, high reactivity) or contain pathogens of infectious diseases, or which may pose an immediate or potential danger to environment and human health independently or when coming into contact with other substances.

The Federal Classification Catalog of Wastes, approved by Order No. 786 of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia dated December 2, 2002, identifies their types according to a set of priority characteristics: by origin, physical state, chemical composition, environmental hazard. The catalog has five levels of classification, arranged according to a hierarchical principle: blocks, groups, subgroups, positions, subpositions.

According to origin they are distinguished:

– waste of organic natural (animal and plant) origin;

– mineral origin;

– chemical origin;

– communal (including household) origin.

The bulk of waste is generated at enterprises of the mining complex, which includes the fuel and energy complex, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical production and the construction industry. Such waste includes unused dumps of overburden and host rocks, off-balance ores, ash and slag waste, slag from ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, and waste from the chemical and petrochemical industries generated during the extraction and processing of mineral ores.

The greatest environmental hazard is posed by organomineral waste that can spontaneously combust: overburden and mine rocks. The most harmful to the environment is the production of aluminum: as a result, multi-ton deposits of alumina cycle sludge and bauxite nepheline sludge accumulate in dumps and storage facilities.

IN special group environmentally hazardous large-scale waste from industrial and domestic consumption includes arsenic-containing waste.

In the State report on the state and protection of the environment in the Russian Federation in 2002–2003. data on the new classification of environmental hazard classes of waste is provided:

– Class I is characterized by irreversible damage to ecosystems, i.e. their restoration is impossible;

– Class II requires at least 30 years of restoration, provided that the impact of the source is stopped;

– Hazard class III assumes a ten-year restoration period for ecosystems;

– IV class – at least three years.

Toxic waste are divided into four hazard classes (I–IV) according to the Temporary Classification of Toxic Industrial Wastes and Methodological recommendations to determine the toxicity class of industrial waste.

In relation to waste, State cadastre, which includes a federal classification catalogue, a state register of waste disposal sites and a waste data bank.

According to the Federal Law “On Production and Consumption Waste”, the following terms have been introduced to denote actions whose object is waste:

– appeal;

- education;

- usage;

– neutralization;

– transportation;

– accommodation;

- storage;

– burial;

– cross-border movement.

Waste management– activities during which waste is generated, as well as activities for the collection, use, disposal, transportation, and disposal of waste. Activities related to hazardous waste management are subject to mandatory licensing. Persons authorized to handle hazardous waste are required to have vocational training, confirmed by certificates for the right to work with hazardous waste.

Usage– is the use of waste for the production of goods (products, work, provision of services or for energy production).

Neutralization– waste processing, including burning and neutralization in specialized installations, in order to prevent the harmful effects of waste on human health and the environment.

Burial– this is the isolation of waste that is not subject to further use, and storage is carried out in special storage facilities in order to prevent the release of harmful substances into the environment.

Waste disposal is divided into two stages of handling them - storage and disposal and is carried out at specially equipped facilities (landfills, tailings dumps, rock dumps, etc.).

Cross-border movement waste– their transportation from the territory under the jurisdiction of one state to (through) the territory under the jurisdiction of another state, provided that such movement affects the interests of at least two states. Transboundary movement of waste through (to) the territory of the Russian Federation is carried out only for their use on the basis of a permit.

The import of waste for the purpose of burial and neutralization was prohibited, but the Federal Law “On Amendments and Additions to Art. 50 of the RSFSR Law “On Environmental Protection” is permitted, which is confirmed by the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”.

Transporting hazardous waste– their transportation in the presence of a hazardous waste passport by specially equipped and equipped special signs vehicles, compliance with safety requirements during transportation itself, loading and unloading operations, packaging, labeling and the availability of documentation for the transportation and transfer of hazardous waste indicating their quantity, purpose and destination, etc.

Other terms found in a number of acts:

– disposal– waste neutralization, in which the waste is simultaneously removed healthy foods, necessary for further production;

– recycling;

– waste storage– their temporary placement;

– waste collection– their accumulation at the place of formation (production);

– waste removal, covering their collection, sorting, transportation, processing, storage and disposal on the surface or underground;

– recycling, recovery, recycling, etc.

You already know that most of the trash generated in the bin is actually useful materials that can be recycled.
use. For a Russian person, careful attitude towards natural resources has never been the rule. And there is no point in blaming negligence here. Do you know the proverb that is often remembered when characterizing the “Russian character”? Until the thunder strikes, the man will not cross himself. The “homely” Germans have an analogy: “The well is closed after a child has fallen into it.” Thus, troubles associated with irrationality and carelessness have been and are being faced all over the world. The reason is that in a number of countries the waste management policy today is based on reuse waste, but we don’t have one, is that our country is extremely rich in both resources and free land. The smaller the country and the more dynamically it develops, the faster it faces the problem of garbage. Actually, today we are walking a path that many have already walked. It is only important to walk along it not by touch, but using the experience of predecessors.

The task of public utilities both in Russia and abroad is to promptly collect waste from city streets and remove it out of sight. The whole difference is where to put them. There are three ways to dispose of waste: bury, incinerate and recycle. Let's take a closer look at each of these three methods using examples from different countries.

The most ancient and simplest way

Waste disposal is the most ancient and simplest method of waste management. However, this approach is extremely dangerous for the environment and human health. Previously, when all the generated garbage was of natural origin, such its placement threatened only rat raids and epidemics. But they learned to deal with this by reinventing the wheel - immediately it became possible to make a landfill further away, so that the rats could not get to the city (they are on their own four feet). Now plastic, electrical equipment, chemical and organic residues and much, much more are sent to landfills in Russia.

Garbage is usually dumped in quarries or other places chosen on the principle of “it just so happens.” The thickness of the garbage layer (or more correctly, the “landfill body”) can reach 80 meters or more. During the decomposition of this mixture, watered by rain, a filtrate is formed - a liquid saturated with waste products, which penetrates the soil and pollutes groundwater with toxic substances and heavy metal compounds.
Since household waste contains many flammable substances, summer time Spontaneous combustion of the landfill body regularly occurs, which is almost impossible to extinguish. As a result of combustion, not only fire gases (carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides and furans), but also such extremely dangerous super-ecotoxicants as dibenzofurans and dioxins enter the atmosphere. In total, any landfill releases more than one hundred toxic substances into the environment that have mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. Also, do not forget that in addition to toxic gases, landfills produce huge amounts of the greenhouse gas methane as a result of the decomposition of organic waste. It is one of the main gases, the accumulation of which in the atmosphere leads to an increase in the greenhouse effect.

Dioxins

You may have heard of dioxins - they are 67,000 times more potent than cyanide. By interfering with the process of formation of new cells in the body, they provoke the development of cancer; affect the delicate functioning of the endocrine glands, which in turn leads to a complete imbalance of all vital important functions body; strongly affect reproductive function, often inhibiting puberty or even leading to infertility. The lethal dose is so microscopic that it makes dioxins more dangerous than chemical warfare agents. And one more thing terrible characteristic– they are weakly broken down and are capable of accumulating both in the human body and in the environment, moving from one natural cycle to another.

My fire is shining in the fog...

Please note that dioxins are formed not only during combustion in landfills or incinerators. They are formed under conditions of low-temperature combustion (less than 1000 ºС) of chlorine-containing waste, that is, including in a fire or in a furnace. This is, first of all, plastic waste: products made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC marking, number 3), which are often visually indistinguishable from PET, as well as products from PET itself and other plastics, since chlorine-containing additives are added to them to impart different properties. Often on summer cottages or at the end of a tourist trip, people burn the accumulated waste, thereby solving the problem of garbage, including plastic. Under no circumstances should you do this if you value your health and the health of those around you, not to mention the “gift” for the environment.

Russian scope

Every year, more than 300 million tons of waste are sent to landfills and natural dumps in Russia. There is no exact data on how much area is currently occupied by garbage, but even approximate figures are impressive. Thus, the country's landfills cover about 1 million hectares, which is approximately 10 areas of Moscow! What if we add to this “unaccounted for” illegal waste disposal sites? This figure may have to be increased significantly.
Today, Russia operates landfills that were opened in the 30-50s. 20th century. The vast majority of landfills are located in waste quarries and do not meet environmental standards. It’s hard to even imagine the damage these objects cause to ecological systems. But regarding emissions of methane gas into the Earth’s atmosphere, it is known that landfills and landfills in Russia annually emit up to 1 million tons of methane (about 90 billion m3) into the atmosphere, which is approximately 3% of the planetary flow.

Cultural dump

What about other countries? All developed countries have long been implementing mechanisms to reduce the negative impact of landfills on the environment. Thus, modern landfills are equipped in accordance with strict requirements that exclude contact of waste with soil, and include systems for collecting and discharging leachate and biogas.
A modern polygon should look something like this. The pit prepared for backfilling is lined with an inert and impermeable film, which makes it possible to reliably separate the body of the landfill and the leachate from the ground. An embankment is created around the landfill to protect it from wind drift. When dumped, waste is compacted and covered with layers of inert soil. And finally, even during the design, a system for monitoring and collecting wastewater and biogas generated is laid out. In a number of countries, special installations are used at landfills to collect and utilize the methane released. The collected gas is used to produce heat and electricity.

Returning to Russia, it should be noted that today in almost all regions, including Moscow, there is an issue of overcrowding of existing landfills. This means that it is necessary to close and reclaim old landfills and open new ones, thereby creating more and more exclusion zones.
In connection with all the above-mentioned difficulties and consequences that the old and low-tech method of waste management creates, another, no less traditional method looks very tempting.

Burning

Incineration is another method of waste disposal, which, moreover, allows you to significantly reduce the volume of waste and even get a benefit - the energy generated during combustion can be used. These two arguments are decisive in the justifications of the supporters of this method.

However, it is important to note a few points. The technology of relatively safe waste incineration, firstly, always involves preliminary waste sorting. Mixed waste has low combustible properties, as it may contain a large proportion of non-combustible fractions, resulting in the need to support the combustion process with additional fuel. Pre-sorting also eliminates the possibility of burning hazardous waste. Secondly, the combustion process itself must take place under strictly defined characteristics (the combustion temperature must be at least 1000°C), which makes it possible to minimize the formation of environmentally hazardous products (in particular, dioxins). Thirdly, the plant must be equipped with an expensive ventilation system, which must be properly maintained throughout its operation. And fourthly, the plant must ensure the processing and safe disposal of ash generated as a result of waste combustion and accounting for about 1/5 of the original volume of waste.

For a lot of money and only after sorting

Summarizing the experience of many countries, we can summarize that the waste incineration route is the most expensive, not only in terms of construction costs, but also in operation. The proof of these words is that in recent decades no new waste incineration plants (WIPs) have been built in Europe and many old incineration plants have been closed because they do not meet the emission standards European Union. Small countries (Denmark, Switzerland, Holland, Japan), where there are no disposal sites at all, continue to use this technology for the destruction of household waste, but at the same time spend huge amounts of money on cleaning waste gases and use modern technologies burning. In addition, it should be noted that only waste is burned from which some of the useful fractions have already been selected for processing, and the resulting energy is used to produce electricity and heat. By the way, modern combustion technologies make it possible to use up to 80% of the energy contained in waste.

Is it suitable for us?

The experience of other countries suggests that the choice of incineration is a choice dictated by limited territorial resources, associated with very high costs for maintaining the proper level of operation of waste incineration plants. It is impossible to completely stop burning waste. However, the use of this technology can be justified only after the selection and processing of useful fractions.
In Russia, waste incineration is poorly developed. There are about a dozen factories throughout the country. However, this method is often considered as the basic one when planning long-term waste management programs.

On December 23, 2014, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted in two readings the bill “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Industrial and Consumption Waste”, separate legislative acts of the Russian Federation and the recognition as invalid of certain legislative acts (provisions of legislative acts) of the Russian Federation.” On December 25, the bill was approved by the Federation Council, and on December 29, the President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law No. 458-FZ dated December 29, 2014 with the corresponding title (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 458-FZ). This law makes significant changes to the legislation regulating waste management. The entry into force of many provisions was postponed until January 1, 2016, some provisions until 2017 and even until 2019. This article provides an overview of the main changes in legislation that have already entered into force and will enter into force in the near future. Since the changes are too extensive, we will dwell in detail only on the most relevant in our opinion. Some of the new legislation will require additional regulations, but we will briefly touch on these provisions as well.

The said bill was introduced by the Government of the Russian Federation in State Duma July 21, 2011, and on October 7 of the same year it was adopted in the first reading. It took more than three years for the law to be finally adopted. Initially, the purpose of the bill was to create economic incentives for the involvement of waste into economic circulation as secondary material resources, but in the process of working on the bill, the goals were expanded. Thus, the adopted Federal Law No. 458-FZ is intended to:

• increase the efficiency of regulation in the field of waste management;
• create new economic instruments for involving waste in economic circulation;
• create conditions for attracting investment in the field of municipal waste management.

Let's try to figure out what the essence of the changes in legislation provided for by Federal Law No. 458-FZ is.

First of all, changes have been made to the terminology used in the field of waste management. First of all, they touched upon Art. 1 of Federal Law No. 89-FZ of June 24, 1998 “On Production and Consumption Waste” (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 89-FZ).

A NEW DEFINITION OF WASTE

Formulation of the concept familiar to everyone "production and consumption waste" was changed (highlighted and underlined by the author):

[…] - remains of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, other products or products that formed in progress production or consumption, and goods (products) that have lost their consumer properties;	production and consumption waste […] — substances or items, which educated in progress production, performance of work, provision of services or in progress consumption, which are deleted, intended for deletion or subject to deletion in accordance with this Federal Law;

If previously waste (according to the wording of the previous edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ) could be generated exclusively in the process production or consumption, and when goods and products lose their consumer properties, then waste can now also be generated when performing work And provision of services. Of course, this clarification is quite logical, and one can only wonder why it was made only now. True, the new wording excludes mention of goods that have lost their consumer properties, but legislators have separated such waste (along with some other waste) into separate categories, which will be discussed further.

Taking a closer look at the new formulation, you can see that previously the concept "waste" was determined only from the point of view of the process education(appearance) of waste. Now, in addition to the actual description of the waste generation process, the wording includes a mention of removal appropriately formed substances and objects. At the same time, the second part of the new definition (if we consider it in the context of domestic legislation) raises many questions:

1. What in this case should be understood by deletion substances or objects? In Federal Law No. 89-FZ itself, the term “deletion” is not disclosed. The linguistic interpretation of this rule of law can lead us into a dead end, since in the Russian language there are many meanings of this word and different dictionaries give different interpretations of the noun “removal” and, accordingly, the verbs “delete”/“delete”. In GOST R 53692-2009 “Resource conservation. Waste management. Stages of the waste technological cycle" (hereinafter - GOST R 53692-2009) (clause 3.1.26) there is the following definition: "waste removal is the last stage of the waste technological cycle, at which the decomposition, destruction and/or disposal of waste of classes I-IV is carried out dangers while ensuring environmental protection." However, we note that here we are no longer talking about substances or subjects, and about waste, while disposal is considered as the last stage of the waste technological cycle.

2. For what purpose was the definition supplemented by reference to deletion waste? Was it meant that certain substances and objects, formed accordingly, may not be subject to removal and not to be intended for removing? If such substances and objects were formed during the activities of the enterprise, then in this case they should not be considered waste?

3. How can you determine whether a substance or item should be removed? Or did it mean that ALL appropriately formed substances and objects should be removed?

4. For what purpose is the reservation made? ...in accordance with this Federal Law"? Perhaps this is just an unnecessary mention (in addition to paragraph 2 of Article 2 of Federal Law No. 89-FZ) that the disposal of certain substances and objects may be regulated by relevant legislation? Or did it mean that the disposal of ordinary waste can occur in ways not specified in Federal Law No. 89-FZ, and in this case the substances or objects will not be considered waste?

In general, much in the new formulation seems incomprehensible. But specialists familiar with Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal(hereinafter referred to as the Basel Convention), when looking at this wording it immediately becomes obvious that it is a hybrid of the wording from the early edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ and the wording of the Basel Convention: ““waste” are substances or objects that are disposed of, intended for deletion or are subject to deletion in accordance with the provisions of national law." But, firstly, the scope of the Basel Convention is quite specific - waste that is the object of transboundary transport, the transport of waste itself and its disposal. Secondly, the Basel Convention makes reference to How the term should be understood "waste removal"(a specific list of waste handling operations is provided). And if the reference to national legislation in the Basel Convention is clear (since in different countries legislation may vary), then tracing paper from it “...in accordance with this Federal Law” in the new wording of Federal Law No. 89-FZ looks somewhat strange.

It seems to us that the mechanical transfer of the provisions of the Basel Convention to Federal Law No. 89-FZ was not very successful. Let us assume that the resulting “hybrid” formulation and the absence of the concept "delete" in federal legislation will cause a lot of problems for enterprises in the future, especially given the new provisions of the legislation in the field of licensing (which will be discussed below). If removal is considered as the movement of substances or objects from the territory of the enterprise, this is one situation. If we consider removal and recycling within the same enterprise as disposal, the situation is different. And if disposal is considered to be operations with waste in accordance with GOST R 53692-2009 (destruction, decomposition or burial) - the third situation.

OTHER CHANGES IN WASTE MANAGEMENT TERMINOLOGY

1. Instead of the concept "waste use" the term has now been introduced "recycling" , and the definition of this concept is given precisely through the noun "usage"(highlighted and underlined by the author):

Previous version of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (Article 1)	New edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (Article 1)
waste use — use of waste for the production of goods (products), performance of work, provision of services or for energy production;	recycling — usage waste for the production of goods (products), performance of work, provision of services, including waste reuse, including reuse of waste for its intended purpose ( recycling), their return to the production cycle after appropriate preparation ( regeneration), as well as the extraction of useful components for their reuse ( recovery);

In one of the articles published in previous issues of the journal, we have already addressed the topic of the relationship between concepts "waste use" And "recycling" , keeping in mind the bill that preceded the appearance of Federal Law No. 458-FZ. Taking into account amendments to changes in legislation, this material largely remains relevant.

Let us recall that in the mentioned article we wrote that in the current practical activities waste disposal could mean anything, including waste disposal; and even serious companies involved in waste management, when concluding contracts, often indicated waste disposal in their subject matter, although in fact it was about neutralization. Now the law has a definition of the term "recycling" . Therefore, we advise environmentalists of enterprises to be especially careful when concluding contracts and insist on the use of terms in accordance with the law.

It is important to note that waste disposal now also means recycling, And regeneration, And recovery. Let's return to this when discussing the issue of licensing.

2. Added to types of waste management additional view — waste treatment .

According to the new provision of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (underlined by the author) waste treatment - preliminary waste preparation for further disposal, including their sorting, disassembly, cleaning.

Note that waste treatment (if it is carried out) is the stage preceding waste disposal in its new meaning. But can it be considered waste treatment, for example, sorting a batch of waste intended for disposal, from which 10-15% of waste suitable for further disposal (glass, metals, paper, cardboard, rubber, polyethylene) is selected? Indeed, in this case, sorting is essentially the preparation of waste for further disposal. Most likely, supervisory authorities will interpret sorting as waste processing, especially since the extraction of useful components for their reuse classified as waste disposal. On the other hand, now regulatory authorities will not be tempted to call sorting neutralization (which, of course, it is not). We also wrote about such curiosities at one time.

3. Concept « waste disposal" a new definition is given (highlighted and underlined by the author):

Previous version of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (Article 1)	New edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (Article 1)
waste disposal — waste treatment, including waste incineration and disinfection in specialized installations, in order to prevention harmful	waste disposal — reducing the mass of waste, changing its composition, physical and chemical properties(including incineration and (or) disinfection in specialized installations) in order to reduction negative the impact of waste on human health and the environment;

As in the previous edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ, neutralization waste is characterized by its purpose . This is the main criterion when determining what should be considered waste disposal (we also pointed out this). Earlier in the formulation it was about preventionharmful impact, now - about decreasenegative impact.

Adjective replacement "harmful" on "negative", probably related to the provisions of Art. 4.1 of Federal Law No. 89-FZ, according to which "waste depending on the degree negative impact on the environment are divided[…]into five hazard classes". That is, based on the criteria for reducing negative impacts (hazard classes) specified in Art. 4.1, it is possible to determine whether the reduction in waste mass or change in waste composition constitutes neutralization.

Noun replacement "prevention" on "decrease", apparently, is due to the fact that not always, after carrying out the appropriate procedure (process), the resulting waste can be classified as practically non-hazardous waste (i.e., class V). After all, if before the implementation of the process the waste belonged to hazard class I, and the output was another waste of hazard class III or IV, then the negative impact of the waste decreased (although it was not completely prevented). Of course, such a process is also neutralization. Therefore, we believe that the new formulation of the concept "waste disposal" more logical.

4. Definition of the term "waste storage" has also been corrected (highlighted and underlined by the author):

As before the term "accumulation of waste" , concept "waste storage" now revealed through a noun "warehousing". A new deadline has been established for waste storage - more than 11 months. Accumulation of waste until January 1, 2016, temporary storage of waste for a period of no more than 6 months will be considered, and from January 1, 2016- for a period of no more than 11 months. What type of waste management will include the storage of waste for a period of time? from 6 to 11 months in 2015? This question is on this moment remains open.

5. According to the new edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (highlighted and underlined by the author) waste management - activities related to collection, accumulation, transportation, processing, recycling, neutralization, disposal of waste.

6. The previous edition of Federal Law No. 89-FZ provided a definition of the concept "waste disposal facility" . Now the law has some clarification (emphasis added):

Definitions are given separately new concepts:

• waste disposal facilities — subsoil plots provided for use in the prescribed manner, underground structures for waste disposal I-V classes dangers in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on subsoil;
• waste storage facilities — specially equipped facilities that are equipped in accordance with the requirements of legislation in the field of environmental protection and legislation in the field of ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population and are intended for long-term storage of waste for the purpose of their subsequent disposal, neutralization, and burial.

7. Federal Law No. 89-FZ introduced the concept "waste disposal facilities" — “specially equipped facilities that are equipped in accordance with the requirements of legislation in the field of environmental protection and legislation in the field of ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population and are intended for waste disposal”.

CHANGES IN THE FIELD OF LICENSING WASTE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

According to the amendments made to Art. 9 of Federal Law No. 89-FZ s July 1, 2015 will have the title “Licensing of activities for the collection, transportation, processing, disposal, neutralization, and disposal of waste of I-IV hazard classes.” From July 1, 2015 The contents of this article will also be changed (emphasis added by the author): "1. Licensing of activitiescollection, transportation, processing, recycling , neutralization and disposal of waste of I-IV hazard classes is carried out in accordance with the Federal Law of May 4, 2011 No. 99-FZ “On licensing individual species activities" taking into account the provisions of this Federal Law[…]» .

Federal Law No. 458-FZ also made corresponding changes to paragraph 30 of Part 1 of Art. 12 of the Federal Law of May 4, 2011 No. 99-FZ “On licensing of certain types of activities”, classifying them as licensed types of activities collection, transportation, processing, disposal, neutralization, disposal of waste of I-IV hazard classes. These changes come into force on July 1, 2015.

Thus, from July 1, 2015, all types of waste management activities, except for accumulation, must be licensed (accordingly, waste generation is also not subject to licensing).

What to do with previously issued licenses for waste disposal and disposal (including unlimited ones)? Federal Law No. 458-FZ gives an answer to this question that is stunning in its simplicity: “Licenses for activities for the neutralization and disposal of waste of hazard classes I-IV, issued before the date of entry into force of this Federal Law, are valid until June 30, 2015.”

Well, as they used to say in the old days: “Here’s St. George’s Day for you, grandma!” Today's grandmothers - to paraphrase a modern song - can only nervously smoke a pipe... Judge for yourself: not only did perpetual licenses suddenly become urgent (and enterprises that recently received licenses will be forced to start the licensing process anew in a few months), but You also need to obtain a license for all waste management operations (except for the generation and accumulation of waste - and thank you for that!).

For example, if at the enterprise during the production of the main products any substances and materials are formed (including defective products) that can be used (we deliberately do not say "disposed of") at the same enterprise (for example, re-included in the production process in the same workshop or sent to a neighboring workshop to produce another type of product), then our predicted position of the supervisory authorities will be that they will require the enterprise to have a license (and if In its absence, the company will face penalties). The same problem may arise when agreeing on draft standards for waste generation and limits on their disposal (hereinafter referred to as NRWR): Rosprirodnadzor authorities will require that the specified substances and materials be included in the waste nomenclature, and a license be attached to the draft NRWR...

Or another example: let’s say in a large office building, where baskets are installed for the accumulation of office waste (if it is waste, it will be waste of hazard class IV), to minimize the costs of removing and burying waste in one of the premises (before moving the contents of the baskets into a common bunker, transported to a solid waste landfill household waste) glass, cardboard, metals, etc. are selected. You don’t have to be Cassandra to assume that if an inspection is carried out, Rosprirodnadzor will classify the process of selecting useful components as waste sorting (i.e., waste treatment), which will require an appropriate license.

Thus, many enterprises in the near future will be faced with a dilemma - either to obtain licenses to carry out waste disposal and/or treatment activities, or to prove (during inspections and in legal proceedings) that certain substances and materials are not waste. As for the above examples, in the first case it will be necessary to prove that the substances and materials are a by-product (and/or raw material), and in the second - that the substances and materials, called office waste, become waste after glass, cardboard are collected from them , metals. Here it is not only the ambiguity of the term that can come to the rescue "delete" in relation to substances and materials, but also existing arbitration practice, in which the courts noted that individual entrepreneurs and legal entities have the right to independently determine which substances and materials generated as a result of their production activities fall under the definition of “production and consumption waste”.

BY THE WAY

In addition to Art. 1 of Federal Law No. 89-FZ, when making decisions and rulings, the judges referred to the corresponding position of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, set out in letter No. 12-47/94 dated January 10, 2013.

We believe that the introduced licensing of new (and “new old”) types of waste management activities - in relation to enterprises specializing in such types of activities - could theoretically contribute to streamlining and effective control in this area. But we fear that the desire to force a significant part of organizations that are de facto not involved in waste processing or disposal to go through the licensing procedure will create unnecessary administrative barriers, which, in a difficult economic situation, will clearly not contribute to economic growth in our country.

CHANGES TO WASTE OWNERSHIP PROVISIONS

Article 4 “Waste as an object of property rights” of Federal Law No. 89-FZ in the new edition has become extremely laconic: “The ownership of waste is determined in accordance with civil law”.

That's all! No more mentions that the ownership of waste belongs to the owner of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, other products or products, as well as goods (products), as a result of the use of which this waste was generated. And most importantly, there is no longer a provision that the owner of waste of hazard class I-IV has the right to alienate this waste into the ownership of another person, transfer to him, while remaining the owner, the right to own, use or dispose of this waste, if such a person has a license to carry out activities on the use, neutralization, transportation, disposal of waste of no less hazard class. Let us recall that these conditions were provided for in the previous edition of this article.

It turns out that ownership of waste (including donation) can be transferred to any person, regardless of whether the latter has a license. Another thing is that when developing NLR projects, drawing up technical reports or reporting of small and medium-sized businesses (hereinafter referred to as SMEs), it will still be necessary to indicate the names of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who will carry out further waste management operations (indicating the types of treatment with waste and license details).

Now waste- How one of the types of movable things- are the object of property rights. The grounds for the emergence and procedure for the exercise of property rights are regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which we recommend that all ecologists study (at least the provisions of the articles on the right of ownership of movable property). It would also be useful to study the chapters and articles on the types of contracts relating to movable property.

Here are excerpts from the Civil Code that may be useful to environmentalists:

Extraction
from the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Article 136. Fruits, products and income

3. A similar situation will arise from January 1, 2016 in the area of ​​submitting notification reports to SMEs. The procedure for submitting and monitoring reporting on the generation, recycling, neutralization, and disposal of waste (with the exception of statistical reporting) of small and medium-sized enterprises, in the course of economic and (or) other activities of which waste is generated at facilities subject to federal state environmental supervision, will be established by the authorized federal executive body; and on objects subject to regional state environmental supervision, - authorized executive authority of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

4. The wording on the possibility of suspending the activities of enterprises in cases of violation of the IOLR will be changed. If the previous edition dealt with the suspension of activities in the field of waste management (this provision has remained since the time when waste management included the generation of waste), then from January 1, 2016, this provision of Federal Law No. 89-FZ will be look like this (highlighted and underlined by the author): « In case of violation of waste generation standards and limits on their disposal economic and (or) other activities of individual entrepreneurs, legal entities, during which waste is generated, may be limited, suspended or terminated in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation."

CHANGES IN THE FIELD OF WASTE Certification

Changes will be made to Art. 14 “Requirements for the management of waste of I-V hazard classes” of Federal Law No. 89-FZ:

1. From January 1, 2016 enterprises whose activities generate waste of I-V hazard classes and will be required to carry out assignment of waste to a specific hazard class for confirmation such classification in the manner established by the authorized federal executive body (the same body will carry out the confirmation of the classification of waste of hazard classes I-V to a specific hazard class). This, as they say, is “bad news” (let us remind you that currently the procedure for classifying waste into hazard classes I-IV is still in effect, and for waste of class V, the need to classify waste into hazard classes, as a rule, arises only when developing a NRW project) .

2. The "good news" is that from January 1, 2016, confirmation of assignment to a specific hazard class of waste included in the federal waste classification catalogue, will not be required . We note with sadness that legislators did not take pity on ordinary environmentalists and did not provide for a faster entry into force of this norm.

CHANGES IN THE AREA OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FEES AND ECONOMIC INCENTIVES

Federal Law No. 458-FZ also amended Art. 23 “Payment for negative impact on the environment when disposing of waste” of Federal Law No. 89-FZ. January 1, 2016 The following important provisions come into force:

1. Payment for negative impact on the environment (hereinafter referred to as NVOS) when placing waste (excluding MSW) carried out by individual entrepreneurs, legal entities, in the process of carrying out economic and (or) other activities waste is generated.

2. Fee payers for NVOS when placing MSW are operators for handling MSW, regional operators carrying out activities for their placement.

Thus, many years of disputes (including disputes in high courts) about whether enterprises should pay a fee for NWOS when disposing of waste, as well as who exactly should pay this fee, will now sink into oblivion. The ambiguity of legal norms will be eliminated: ownership of waste, whether it is transmitted or not transmitted, will have nothing to do with the payment for the NVOS.

Speaking about the payment for NVOS when placing MSW, we note another new norm of Federal Law No. 89-FZ (comes into force on January 1, 2016): “The cost of payment for the negative impact on the environment when disposing of municipal solid waste is taken into account when setting tariffs for the operator for handling solid waste.communalwaste, the regional operator in the manner established by the principles of pricing in the field of solid waste managementcommunalwaste". This norm applies not only to environmentalists, but to all citizens. Since these expenses will likely be included in utility bills, the total amount of utility bills will have to increase. Ideally, this should become an incentive to reduce waste generation on the part of users of residential premises - both directly (every resident should strive to reduce waste generation, and return secondary resources to recycling collection points), and by influencing management companies (voluntary or forced organization by them separate collection waste).

Federal Law No. 458-FZ amended the provisions of the Federal Law of July 21, 2014 No. 219-FZ “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection” and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” on the application of reducing coefficients to payment rates for NVOS(changes will take effect January 1, 2016). Thus, in order to encourage legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in economic and (or) other activities to take measures to reduce the waste pollution when calculating the charge for waste disposal, the following coefficients will be applied to the rates of such payment:

• coefficient 0 - when placing hazard class V waste from the mining industry by filling artificially created cavities in rocks during land and soil reclamation;
• coefficient 0.5 - when disposing of waste of hazard classes IV, V, generated during the disposal of previously disposed waste from the processing and mining industries;
• coefficient 0.67 - when disposing of hazard class III waste generated during the neutralization of hazard class II waste;
• coefficient 0.49 - when disposing of hazard class IV waste generated during the neutralization of hazard class III waste;
• coefficient 0.33 - when disposing of hazard class IV waste generated during the neutralization of hazard class II waste.

January 1, 2016 The provision of Federal Law No. 89-FZ comes into force stating that in the production of packaging, finished goods (products), after the loss of consumer properties which form waste which are presented biodegradable materials(the list will be established by the Government of the Russian Federation), may be applied various economic stimulus measures.

CHANGES IN PROFESSIONAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

The need to amend Art. 15 “Requirements for professional training of persons authorized to handle waste of I-IV hazard classes” of Federal Law No. 89-FZ, many provisions of which (especially after the entry into force of the Federal Law of December 29, 2012 No. 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation”) Federations”) have turned into a certain kind of atavism (suffice it to say that the concept of “professional training” is not in the latest Federal Law), and is long overdue. Nevertheless, legislators, keen on developing new large-scale concepts, the first two paragraphs of Art. 15 was not touched at all, but paragraph 3 was supplemented with the following content: "3. The procedure for professional training of persons authorized to collect, transport, process, dispose of, neutralize, and dispose of waste of hazard classes I-IV, and the requirements for its implementation are established by the federal executive body exercising the functions of developing state policy and legal regulation in the field of education , in agreement with the federal executive body that carries out state regulation in the field of environmental protection". This provision comes into effect on July 1, 2015, and we are very interested to see how it is implemented.

ABOUT SOME PROHIBITIONS

Earlier we talked about the “carrots” provided for in the new legislation. Now let’s say a few words about the new prohibitions (“whips”) in Federal Law No. 89-FZ:

• from January 1, 2016 in Art. 11 a ban will be introduced on the commissioning of buildings, structures and other facilities that are not equipped with technical means and technologies for the neutralization and safe disposal of waste;
• from January 1, 2016 in Art. 12 is entered ban on the use of MSW for land and quarry reclamation;
• from January 1, 2017 in accordance with the new edition of Art. 12 disposal of waste containing useful components that must be disposed of will be prohibited. The list of types of waste that contain useful components prohibited for disposal will be established by the Government of the Russian Federation. It is not yet known whether previously issued documents approving the NPLR will be cancelled, if these limits allowed for the disposal of useful components.

CONCLUSION

In the article we tried to dwell on the most important, in our opinion, innovations in legislation in the field of waste management. Some of them were touched upon to a greater extent, others were only outlined. The scope of a journal article, especially one written literally “hot on the heels” of the adopted Federal Law No. 458-FZ, does not allow us to talk in too much detail about large-scale changes in the field of waste management. It seems to us that today there are more questions about this legal act than there are answers in it. We are confident that on the pages of the “Ecologist's Handbook” the authors of articles will more than once turn to the analysis of Federal Law No. 458-FZ. Much will become clearer in the process of practical implementation of the provisions of this document, incl. as appropriate by-laws are adopted.

In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to the portal http://regulation.gov.ru, where drafts of all regulations are published and where everyone can take part in official public discussion. Immediately after the adoption of Federal Law No. 458, drafts of several by-laws appeared on this portal. We believe that active participation of the environmental community in formal discussions can help develop optimal versions of regulations.

For example, according to the Great explanatory dictionary Russian language ed. S.A. Kuznetsova (St. Petersburg: Norint, 2009) “remove” - 1) move to a further distance, move away; 2) remove, take out, take out, etc. smb. superfluous, unnecessary, interfering; 3) eliminate somehow. method (remove, cut, tear out, etc.); 4) make the impact or influence of something less noticeable; completely get rid of something influence, impact, etc.

We are talking about emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, discharges of harmful substances into water bodies, substances that destroy the ozone layer, radioactive waste, biological waste, medical waste.

We mean the new Guidelines for the development of draft waste generation standards and limits on their disposal, approved by Order of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources dated August 5, 2014 No. 349. For more details, see: Prokhorov I.O. New guidelines on the development of PNOLR: comments and reflections // Ecologist's Handbook. 2014. No. 12. P. 9-25.

It seems to us that if this news was first heard at a meeting of ecologists, there should have been a pause after it, followed by loud and prolonged applause... After all, what Rosprirodnadzor “arranged” after August 1, 2014 with the confirmation of classes The dangers of waste - with the release of numerous explanatory letters and especially with the introduction of the so-called “Waste Certification Portal” - will be remembered by environmentalists for a long time.

With the ratification by the Russian Federation of the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movement of hazardous waste and their disposal in 1994, Federal Law of November 25, 1994 N 49-FZ "On the ratification of the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movement of hazardous waste and their disposal" "Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation" , 28.11.1994, N 31, art. 3200 The Russian Federation has committed itself to the formation in national legislation of a set of standards relating, among others, to medical waste. Since that time, the development of the necessary regulations began.

With the adoption of the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation” Russian newspaper"N 263, November 23, 2011, for the first time, the definition of the term " medical waste" According to Art. 49 Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”, all types of waste are medical, including anatomical, pathological, biochemical, microbiological and physiological, generated in the process of carrying out medical activities and pharmaceutical activities, production activities medicines and medical products.

To determine the place of medical waste in the system of objects of legal regulation, let us turn to the issues of the relationship between the concept of “medical waste” and related concepts.

The relationship between the concepts of “medical waste” and “production and consumption waste” is of greatest interest to us.

The content of the concept of production and consumption waste is quite broad; of course, waste generated in the process of medical, pharmaceutical activities and activities for the production of medicines and medical devices should be recognized as production and consumption waste. We draw this conclusion because medical waste, like industrial and consumer waste, has the following characteristics that we previously identified:

• - such objects are formed as a result of production or consumption, as well as due to the loss of their consumer properties by certain objects;
• - unsuitability for further use (extraction useful properties) without processing;
• - social significance, due to the impact on the environment and danger to the latter, as well as to society;

But along with the general features, it should be noted that production and consumption waste should be distinguished as a generic concept, and medical waste - a specific one, since medical waste includes only those production and consumption waste that are generated in the process of carrying out medical, pharmaceutical, and medical activities. production of medicines and medical devices. Thus, the main element for identifying medical waste as a special type of production and consumption waste is a specific entity in the process of whose activities waste is generated.

The situation is much more complicated with determining the place of medical waste in the system of hazard classes of industrial and consumer waste. As follows from Art. 49 Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”, medical waste is divided according to the degree of its epidemiological, toxicological, radiation hazard, as well as negative impact on the environment into the following classes:

• · class "A" - epidemiologically safe waste, similar in composition to solid household waste;
• · class "B" - epidemiologically hazardous waste;
• · class "B" - extremely epidemiologically hazardous waste;
• · class "G" - toxicological hazardous waste, similar in composition to industrial waste;
• · class "D" - radioactive waste.

That is, medical waste has its own classification of hazard classes, which does not coincide with the classification of the Federal Law “On Industrial and Consumption Waste”. At the same time, the basis for the classification of medical waste includes not only its impact on the environment, but also other aspects. The criteria for classifying medical waste into one class or another are enshrined in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 4, 2012 No. 681 “On approval of criteria for dividing medical waste into classes according to the degree of their epidemiological, toxicological, radiation hazard, as well as negative impact on the environment » "Collection of Legislation of the Russian Federation", 07/09/2012, N 28, art. 3911:

• · the criterion for the danger of medical waste of class A is the absence of pathogens in its composition infectious diseases;
• · the criterion for the danger of medical waste of class B is infection (possibility of infection) of waste by microorganisms of 3 - 4 groups of pathogenicity (pathogenic biological agents) In accordance with "SP 1.2.036-95. 1.2. Epidemiology. Procedure for recording, storage, transfer and transportation of microorganisms I - IV pathogenicity groups. Sanitary rules" M., Information and Publishing Center of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision of the Russian Federation, 1996, The concept of "pathogenic biological agents" includes: bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi, protozoa, mycoplasmas, toxins and poisons of biological origin or material suspected of their content, as well as new microorganisms, including fragments of the genome of the named pathogens and posing a danger to humans. The classification of organisms pathogenic to humans into pathogenicity groups 1 to 4 is given in Appendix 5.4. SP 1.2.036-95. , as well as contact with biological fluids;
• · the criterion for the danger of medical waste of class B is infection (possibility of infection) of waste by microorganisms of pathogenicity groups 1 - 2;
• · the criterion for the danger of medical waste of class G is the presence of toxic substances in its composition;
• · the criterion for the danger of class D medical waste is the content of radionuclides in its composition exceeding the levels established in accordance with the Federal Law “On the Use of Atomic Energy”.

Medical waste in most countries is classified as hazardous waste N.K. Efimova Waste from medical institutions as a medical and environmental risk factor Questions of expertise and quality of medical care", No. 4, April 2011, however, as follows from the above classification adopted on the territory of the Russian Federation, medical waste can be non-hazardous.

Between 75 and 90% of the waste generated in the healthcare system is not classified as risk waste or is “routine” healthcare waste comparable to household waste. The remaining 15-20% of healthcare waste is considered hazardous waste, and it can cause various risks to human health Orlov A.Yu. Justification of the sanitary-chemical hazard of medical waste: dissertation of a candidate of medical sciences: 14.02.01. Moscow, 2010.

We believe that it should be recognized that due to the current existence of parallel classifications of industrial and consumer waste and medical waste according to hazard classes, law enforcers may have a logical question about whether, in addition to the special classification of medical waste according to hazard classes, a general one should also be applied to them. classification of production and consumption waste. We plan to answer this question later in this work.

The question of the relationship between concepts " biological waste" and "medical waste" are subject to research and clarity, since in the literature and in regulations These concepts are used in different combinations. Federal Law “On Production and Consumption Waste” in Part 2 of Art. 2 separates the concepts of biological waste and medical waste (designated as waste from medical institutions), using them as two independent concepts. However, a number of authors take the position that medical waste is a type of biological waste.

The definition of biological waste in the Veterinary and Sanitary Rules for the Collection, Recycling and Destruction of Biological Waste (approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Russian Federation on December 4, 1995 N 13-7-2/469) "Russian News", N 35, 02/22/1996 is given in the form of listing specific types of such waste: biological waste is:

• · corpses of animals and birds, incl. laboratory;
• · aborted and stillborn fetuses;
• · veterinary confiscations (meat, fish, other products of animal origin), identified after a veterinary and sanitary examination at slaughterhouses, slaughterhouses, meat and fish processing organizations, markets, trade organizations and other facilities;
• · other waste obtained from the processing of food and non-food raw materials of animal origin.

Among the listed biological wastes, special attention should be paid to aborted and stillborn fetuses. Due to the lack of clarification of the nature of their origin, such waste can also be classified as medical, since in fact, as a result of medical activities, aborted and stillborn human fetuses can be formed. We believe that the wording used in the Veterinary and Sanitary Rules for the collection, disposal and destruction of biological waste needs to be clarified: instead of “aborted and stillborn fetuses,” “aborted and/or stillborn fetuses of animals and birds” should be indicated.

It should be noted that biological waste may be mistakenly equated with organic waste of natural origin (hereinafter referred to as “organic waste”). At the same time, as we noted above in this work, organic waste can be of both animal and plant origin. In addition, the formation of biological waste, unlike organic waste, is directly related to the implementation of certain types of activities (veterinary services, processing of animal raw materials, etc.). Medical waste, due to the diversity of its composition, may contain organic waste, but cannot be classified as organic waste entirely. We believe that the relationship between the concepts of “biological waste”, “medical waste” and “organic waste of natural origin” can be depicted as follows:

To determine the limits of regulation of relations related to the management of medical waste, it is extremely important has a correlation between the terms “waste from medical institutions” and “medical waste”, because the Federal Law “On Production and Consumption Waste” operates with the term “waste from medical institutions”, and the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens” uses the term “medical waste” .

In 1999, by Decree of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated January 22, 1999 N 2, “SanPiN 2.1.7.728-99 Soil, cleaning of populated areas, household and industrial waste. Sanitary soil protection. Rules for the collection, storage and disposal of waste from medical institutions. Sanitary rules and norms" M., Federal Center state sanitary and epidemiological supervision of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 1999 Lost force, which introduced the concept of “waste from medical institutions” - all types of waste generated in hospitals (citywide, clinical, specialized, departmental, as part of research, educational institutes), clinics ( including adults, children, dental), dispensaries; ambulance stations; blood transfusion stations; long-term care facilities; research institutes and educational institutions medical profile; veterinary hospitals; pharmacies; pharmaceutical production; health institutions (sanatoriums, dispensaries, rest homes, boarding houses); sanitary institutions; forensic medical examination institutions; medical laboratories (including anatomical, pathological, biochemical, microbiological, physiological); private enterprises providing medical care. It should be noted that the legislation of the Russian Federation did not and does not contain a uniform and unambiguous interpretation of the term “medical and preventive institution” (hereinafter referred to as health care institution):

• · Under establishment by virtue of Art. 120 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is understood as a non-profit organization created by the owner to carry out managerial, socio-cultural or other functions of a non-commercial nature. The corresponding Civil Code of the Russian Federation represents the definition of health care facility, which is contained in the Order of Rostekhregulirovanie dated October 13, 2008 No. 241-st “On approval of the national standard” of the SPS “Consultant Plus” - a health care institution classified by the regulatory documents of the state health care management body of the Russian Federation as a treatment and prophylactic ...".
• · According to SanPiN 2. 1.3.2630-10 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for organizations engaged in medical activities”, approved by Resolution of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated May 18, 2010 N 58 “Bulletin of regulatory acts of federal executive authorities”, N 36, 06.09 .2010, health care facilities - all types of organizations, regardless of the organizational and legal form and form of ownership, the main activity of which is outpatient and/or inpatient health care. Based on the content of the term “health care facility waste”, which we took from SanPiN 2.1.7.728-99, the given interpretation seems to be the most appropriate for the context.

Currently, regulations also use the term “therapeutic and preventive organizations” (TPO), which, we believe, is replacing health care facilities, but it should be noted that along with health care facilities, the legislation of the Russian Federation distinguishes the concept of “organizations engaged in medical activities” ( medical organizations) - legal entities, regardless of the organizational and legal form, carrying out medical activities as the main (statutory) type of activity on the basis of a license issued in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation (clause 11 of article 2 of the Federal Law “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation "). Pursuant to Art. 14 of the Federal Law “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation”, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has developed a draft order “On approval of the nomenclature of medical organizations”, according to which organizations carrying out medical activities are proposed to be divided into types and, in particular, along with treatment and preventive medical organizations it is also proposed identify special types of medical organizations and medical oversight organizations in the field of consumer rights protection and human well-being.

Taking into account the concept of health care facility waste set out in SanPiN 2.1.7.728-99, it seems that at present the term “waste of medical organizations” is a successor concept in relation to health care facility waste.

The related nature of the concepts “medical waste” and “health care facility waste” is indicated by the following fact: in 2010, SanPiN 2.1.7.728-99 2.1.7 lost force due to the introduction of SanPiN 2.1.7.2790-10 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for handling with medical waste." At the same time, SanPiN 2.1.7.728-99. 2.1.7. contained Chapter 3 “Medical Waste”, which presented the classification of waste from healthcare facilities into five hazard classes according to the degree of their epidemiological, toxicological and radiation hazard, and this classification was used practically unchanged in SanPiN 2.1.7.2790-10.

Let us turn once again to the legislative definition of medical waste. The Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation” includes all types of waste generated during the implementation of:

• · medical activities;
• · pharmaceutical activities. A comprehensive concept of a pharmaceutical organization is given in Art. 2 Federal Law “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation” - entity regardless of the organizational and legal form, carrying out pharmaceutical activities (organization of wholesale trade of medicines, pharmacy organization). It should be added that a pharmaceutical organization must be recognized as an organization that has a license for pharmaceutical activities;
• · activities for the production of medicines and medical devices.

That is, with the introduction of the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation,” the concept of medical waste became broader in content. In support of the above, one cannot help but pay attention to the interpretation of the legislation of the Ministry of Natural Resources, contained, in particular, in Letter dated December 16, 2011 N 12-46/18775 “On the regulation of environmental activities with medical and biological waste” SPS Consultant Plus: “at present (...) issues of waste management from medical institutions, and medical waste in general, are regulated by Sanitary Rules and Norms SanPiN 2.1.7.2790-10...” That is, in accordance with the position of the Ministry of Natural Resources, waste from healthcare facilities is included in the group of medical waste, the term “waste from healthcare facilities” is narrower in content.

Some authors, for example, Orlov A.Yu., Orlov A.Yu. Justification of the sanitary-chemical hazard of medical waste: dissertation of a candidate of medical sciences: 14.02.01. Moscow, 2010 also use the term “health care waste”, and, we believe, mean waste from medical organizations.

Evidence of the urgent need to bring to uniformity the terms used in various regulations and doctrine is the Draft Federal Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Adoption of the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation,” which is in most countries in force. Currently, in regulatory documents, the term “medical and preventive institutions” will be replaced by “medical organizations”, and the term “health care facility waste”, used in the Federal Law “On Production and Consumption Waste” will be replaced by the term “medical waste”. With the adoption of the above changes, the dispute regarding the relationship between the concepts of “health care facility waste” and “medical waste” will lose its relevance, therefore, further in this work we will use the term “medical waste” as equivalent to the term “health care facility waste”.

The main principles of state policy in the field of waste management are:

Protecting human health, maintaining or restoring a favorable state of the environment and preserving biological diversity;

Scientifically based combination of environmental and economic interests of society;

Using the latest scientific and technical achievements in order to implement low-waste and non-waste technologies and comprehensive processing of material and raw materials in order to reduce the amount of waste;

Using methods of economic regulation of activities in the field of waste management in order to reduce the amount of waste and involve it in economic circulation.

It is prohibited to put into operation facilities that are not equipped with technical means and technologies for the neutralization and safe disposal of production or consumption waste, neutralization of emissions and discharges of pollutants.

Huge amounts of money are spent on waste management. Waste has to be transported, stored, disposed of, processed, destroyed, etc. All these are expensive operations.

Federal laws “On Environmental Protection” and “On Production and Consumption Waste” define the basic requirements for the protection of human health and environmental protection in waste management processes.

“Waste from production and consumption, including radioactive waste, is subject to collection, use, neutralization, transportation, storage and burial, the conditions and methods of which must be safe for the environment and regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation” (Federal Law “On Environmental Protection” dated January 10, 2002 No. 7-FZ).

The law prohibits:

Discharge of production and consumption waste, including radioactive waste, into surface and underground water bodies, into drainage areas, into the subsoil and onto the soil;

Disposal of hazardous waste and radioactive waste in areas adjacent to urban and rural settlements, in forest parks, resorts, medical and recreational areas, on animal migration routes, near spawning grounds and in other places where a danger to the environment, natural ecological systems and human health may be created;

Disposal of hazardous waste and radioactive waste in drainage areas of underground water bodies;

Import of hazardous waste and radioactive waste into Russian Federation for the purpose of their burial and neutralization.

Hazardous waste, depending on the degree of its harmful impact on the environment and human health, is divided into hazard classes (see paragraph 4.6.4). A passport must be drawn up for hazardous waste. A hazardous waste passport is compiled on the basis of data on the composition and properties of hazardous waste and an assessment of its danger. Persons who are authorized to handle hazardous waste are required to have professional training confirmed by certificates for the right to work with them.