Elsewhere: Proceeds From Recycling
Cutting Edge of Waste Disposal
“Even in the ecologically friendly Finland there are some 15,000 to 20,000 polluted sites,” says Taina Noopila, head of exports at Ekokem, the company that provides hazardous waste treatment and management services. “Today, the country has approximately 250 dumps, and unfortunately not all of those meet modern requirements.” For fairness’ sake it ought to be noted that the number of such waste grounds is going down steadily. Since 1999, it dropped more than two-fold.
“A properly organized dump would cost an investor at least 1 or 2 million euros, says Pasi Silvennoinen, deputy head of exports at Ekokem. The cost of Ekokem's waste treatment facility, located in Riihim?ki, is approximately the same.
Ekokem Oy Ab is a small company that serves its clients by treating hazardous and industrial waste through various methods including reuse and recycling, various treatment processes and final landfill. Ekokem was established in 1979, the shareholders being the Finnish state, municipalities and a large number of industrial companies. The treatment of hazardous waste commenced in 1984. Since that Ekokem has treated over 2,000,000 tons of hazardous waste. Ekokem has offered its hazardous waste treatment services to foreign customers since 1986. Over the years Ekokem has had customers in about 30 countries all over the world. Russia, however, is not one of those.
“We hope to change that,” Taina Noopila adds. “We have many times offered cooperation to the Russian government and we hope that one day our proposals will be accepted. We are especially interested in Moscow and St. Petersburg.”
Perhaps, Ekokem has been inspired with the project of another Finish company, successfully carried out in the Moscow Region. Lassila & Tikanoja plc (L&T) provides services and technical maintenance to production companies and real properties, as well as environmental management services. In May 2005, L&T launched the joint venture Ecosystem LLC (L&T Ecosystem) in Dubna, outside Moscow. L&T holds 74 percent stake in the company, the rest belongs to the Dubna city administration and the company’s executives. The joint venture provides services to industrial enterprises and state-run companies based in Dubna and individuals.
“The services provided by our joint venture meet the requirements of the town administration in terms of environmental management,” says Martin Forss, Vice President, Corporate Planning and Business Development at Lassila & Tikanoja. “We provide the best international know-how in this field. Together we will work towards making Dubna an exemplary town in Russia. L&T Ecosystem forms the basis for development of waste management operations in Dubna and neighboring districts.”
The company is involved in talks on other environmental management projects across Russia. “In early May 2005 we launched our operations in Moscow after L&T purchased a cleaning services unit of Alfa Cleaning,” Forss adds. In the years 2006 to 2007 the company is set to focus on investment in waste processing facilities and expanding international operations. In long-term L&T will seek to secure a leading position in the field of environmental management in the Baltic States and Russian regions.
Ekokem, too, confirms its long-term plans to expand operations in Russia, Taina Noopila says. Nowadays, Ekokem treats over 120,000 tons of hazardous waste annually, with a considerable share thereof being imported from other European countries. Since the day it was founded in 1979 the company has treated 2 million tons of hazardous waste.
Incineration using Ekokem’s state-of-the-art technology is the most effective and economical treatment method for most types of organic waste. Electricity and district heat are produced utilizing steam from the incineration process. Incineration at temperatures of around 1300 °C in the rotary kiln, long retention time at high temperature and a very effective gas cleaning system guarantee the most efficient incineration results with minimum emissions, Pasi Silvennoinen explains.
Ekokem's production facility is a versatile and advanced waste treatment unit. Two of the facility's three incineration kilns are high temperature kilns for incineration of organic hazardous chemicals and other materials. The third kiln is designed for treatment of e.g. contaminated soil as well as electrical and electronics scrap. The physico-chemical plant treats inorganic hazardous waste. Ekokem also has process lines for wastewater treatment and for processing of fluorescent tubes. In the processing plant of refrigeration equipment metallic and plastic materials as well as other recyclable materials are separated for reuse. Spent lubrication oils are processed at Ekokem's facilities in Pori and J?ms?nkoski, for use as raw material or energy. Only waste that cannot be utilised in any way is disposed of in Ekokem's permanent landfill.
Recycling Becomes Popular
Waste recycling is one of the most rapidly developing industries in Finland, with the above-mentioned L&T holding the leading position on the market. “The overwhelming majority of Finish companies regard environmental management as an inseparable part of their corporate strategy,” says Kimmo Laaksonen, head of recycling at L&T. “We are ready to help them with that.”
The company collects waste from construction sites, industrial companies, retailers, officers, etc. Paper, cardboard, plastic, metals and glass undergo recycling. Used tyres are shredded in small pieces and are used as a constituent for road surfaces and for drainage constructions at landfill sites.
Waste management services are not cheap. Corporations pay 97.5 euros per ton of unsorted waste. Used car tyres are returned to tyre sales outlets. Tyres are recycled through the Finnish Tyre Recycling Ltd tyre recycling system, operated by L&T’s 140 outlets across the country and 7 special terminals. Taking used tyres to a landfill site is prohibited in Finland. The systematic recycling of used vehicle tyres in Finland was started in 1996. This was based on the Council of State's decision no. 1246, October 12, 1995 setting an obligation for tyre producers to take responsibility for used tyres. To fullfill this obligation the major importers and domestic manufacturers in the tyre business along with Autonrengasliitto (The Tyre Association) voluntarily set up an administrative company, Finnish Tyre Recycling Ltd, for this purpose. The company's objective is to take care of the collection and utilization of used vehicle tyres in Finland. The operational part in the recycling process is run by Lassila & Tikanoja. The recycling tax is included in the price of new tyres and is set at 1.85 euros for passenger cars, 8.30 for trucks.
Removed and Forgotten
Ecologists and experts admit that in terms of waste utilization and processing in Russia is way behind developed countries. Each year Moscow generates 10 to 13 million tons of waste, most of which is deposited at dumping grounds around the city. Moscow residents pay 15 rubles for waste disposal per month, or $6 per year. For comparison: Helsinki residents pay 40 euros per year to municipalities for waste management services.
“Urban waste utilization is one of the main problems for the cities,” says Valekh Rzayev, head of marketing at KRT Group. “The quantity of waste is growing annually. Synthetic waste is causing great damage to the environment, e.g. plastic bags, pieces of plastics, synthetic textile fibers, metals, etc. Western governments attach great attention to the issue. Municipalities and large public groups finance special research projects at leading universities seeking to optimize waste disposal and utilization. In Russia, unfortunately, even in the big cities authorities fail to do much in that field apart from recognizing that drastic changes are necessary. The most part of waste is merely buried or burned on dumping grounds. In some parts of Moscow it is hardly possible even to return empty beer or water bottles, etc. If that problem receives no attention at some point we will find out that our environment is destroyed and unsuitable for living.”
“The problem of waste collection from construction sites has existed always,” Anatoly Morozov, general director at MIAN Development says. “Today, a clear-cut procedure has been introduced. The project documentation contains a special section governing construction waste management, where the location of the dumping ground is specified. Moscow has several dumping grounds for construction waste, there is an operator of the Grunt system, which issues permission for waste disposal.”
Oksana Basova, a spokesperson for the company SKholding explains that the company signs an agreement with a specialized company, which supplies waste containers to construction sites and collects waste at agreed intervals, or the construction company uses its own containers and hires a company to empty them.
Moscow-based developers are reluctant to speak of the cost of waste disposal services. Developers pursuing projects in the Moscow Region, too, resort to outsourcing. “The problem of waste collection is solved fairly easily at our construction sites outside Moscow,” says Vladimir Yakhontov, deputy head of countryside real estate at Miel-Nedvizhimost.
“The general contractor signs an agreement with a provider of waste collection and disposal services. By law, construction waste must be moved to special grounds operating outside the city, within a distance of at least 70 km from the capital. Violation of those regulations is punishable with huge fines. At countryside residential compounds waste is collected by maintenance services provider and disposed of by a company hired for the purpose.”
As a rule, residents of upscale countryside estates simply put the waste outdoors, at specially designated locations. Management companies rarely take any measures to conceal those sites. For example, the Zelyony Mys settlement is equipped with special poles with doors where residents leave household waste for waste collectors to take it away.
Alexander Kocherov, head of water resources protection, geological control and environmental safety at the Vash Finansovy Popechitel company, has shed light on the official waste disposal procedure used by developers of out-of-town residential estates. “At the stage where the project is being endorsed a section entitled “Environmental Protection” is included in the plan, containing calculations of potential quantity of waste proceeding from the planned number of residents. Waste generated by shops, restaurants and other services providers are also included in that section. The plan of their collection is being developed. Once the compound is launched the company obtains permission for a calculated limit of waste generation. The settlement is equipped with containers for collection of solid household waste. Agreements with companies providing waste collection and utilization services are signed.
Subject to compulsory utilization are mercury lamps, oil clothes, etc.; storages are equipped to meet sanitary requirements. Waste is collected in accordance with agreed schedule. The landlord is held responsible for illegal dumping of waste and must eliminate those at own expense. Preliminary works alone may cost at least $50,000 for a medium-size settlement (of up to 150 households). The monthly cost of waste disposal services for residents may reach $15 to $20 or over, depending on where waste processing facilities are situated. As a rule, that cost is included in house owners’ payments for maintenance of public amenities on the site.”
Alexander Sindeyev, head of department at Komstrin, says that the cost of developing the waste disposal plan alone has cost the developer of the Zelyony Mys settlement nearly 200,000 rubles.
“As to where the waste is being moved we do not care,” says one of the market operators.