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A total of eleven Russian cities had spent many years preparing for one of the biggest events in 2018. Eight and a half million people travelled to Russia this summer to soak up the atmosphere of the World Cup. To be able to put on such an event, the country first had to set up a new infrastructure – one that also included the whole question of waste management. REMONDIS was also part of this four-week football bonanza with its comprehensive waste collection concept for the stadium and all other World Cup events in Saransk, including the fan parks.
“It was great to see the many thousands of international visitors using the different bins to separate their waste,” commented Swetlana Bigesse, General Director of REMONDIS Russia. REMONDIS is the regional waste management operator responsible for all household waste in the Republic of Mordovia and was also appointed Saransk’s exclusive partner for all waste management matters during the World Cup. An additional 1,000 bins were set up across the city to cope with the increased volumes of waste during the event – including two fan parks and along the roads leading to the stadium. The goal was to make sure that the city remained clean throughout. According to Swetlana Bigesse, this goal was more than met. “The whole system worked perfectly. The thousands of football fans even separated their waste, making sure they threw their different types of waste into the right bins,” she continued proudly. The company had also set up skips and waste compactors around the stadium to make the whole process easier and quicker for the company’s staff.
Segregating waste is not something that can be taken for granted in Russia as it is here in Germany. A mere eight percent of the people living in Moscow are actually given the opportunity to separate their recyclables and only six percent in St. Petersburg. Most Russians simply throw all their rubbish into one bin which then ends up untreated in landfill.
Saransk leads the way in Russia when it comes to separating waste. 80% of the local inhabitants have access to an infrastructure enabling them to segregate their different waste streams. This figure lies at just eight percent in Moscow.
The situation is very different in Saransk, however, where 80% of the local inhabitants are currently able to separate their different waste streams. Which means it is ahead of all the other Russian cities. REMONDIS is certainly one of the reasons for this success. This German waste management firm has been working in Saransk since 2011 where it has succeeded in building up a modern, European system for collecting and recycling waste that also includes ensuring the different waste streams are separated before they are collected. Over the last seven years, the company has set up more than 5,000 bins around the city for the 330,000 local residents and regional companies. What’s more, it has created a modern infrastructure with over 30 new refuse collection vehicles and a recyclables processing plant and started a major PR campaign to grow public awareness about the importance of recycling in other parts of the country as well. REMONDIS Saransk has now been named the official waste management operator for the region and has been awarded a contract to handle waste across the whole of the Republic of Mordovia, which comprises 22 different administrative districts in all. Over 6,000 bins and 30 new vehicles were brought in at the beginning of 2018 to expand the waste management system there, Swetlana Bigesse explained. Thanks to REMONDIS’ work, 250 rural districts within these 22 administrative districts have become part of a modern waste management system for the first time ever this year.
An additional 1,000 bins were set up across the city during the World Cup
Swetlana Bigesse, General Director of REMONDIS Saransk
“People just smiled politely at us when we first mentioned that we wanted to introduce a separate waste collection system in Russia. Now, they are travelling from all over the country to see for themselves just what is possible,” Swetlana Bigesse continued. The spotlight may no longer be on the country now that the World Cup is over but the conditions created for this event and the experience gathered over the four weeks will help to promote sustainability and environmental protection across the country.