Residents of the Vitebsk region are increasingly handing in old household appliances for recycling

Over the past year, the enterprise "BelVTI-region" has doubled the volume of collection and processing of electrical and electronic equipment. Specialists attribute this indicator to the increased environmental literacy of the residents of the Vitebsk region.

Addressing an important state task, "BelVTI-region," with representative offices in Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Orsha, carries out activities aimed at improving the environmental situation and rational use of natural resources. The enterprise actively participates in the implementation of effective waste management policies: it carries out free collection of complex household appliances from the public, performs primary processing of waste electrical and electronic equipment, and engages in educational work.

Why can't electrical and electronic equipment be thrown into landfills? It contains, as environmentalists constantly remind us, various harmful substances: toxic metals (arsenic, cadmium, tin, nickel, zinc, chromium), persistent organic pollutants and compounds, and gases that, upon entering the atmosphere, contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer.

The situation is similar with energy-saving light bulbs. They contain mercury, a chemical substance of the first hazard class. Due to accidental damage to the bulb, mercury vapor, which is colorless and odorless, enters the air and can cause severe poisoning. Used batteries should also never be thrown into the trash. The heavy metals contained within them enter the soil, groundwater, or air (if the landfill burns) and thus enter the food chains, accumulate in living organisms, and cause significant harm to health. It is estimated that a single AA battery can contaminate 1 cubic meter of soil or 400 liters of water.

Today, there is a very simple way to avoid such sad consequences. If your refrigerator, television, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, or gas stove has broken down, dear readers, you just need to call the "BelVTI-region" hotline at (29) 235-235-2. A special team will come to your home and take away the equipment completely free of charge. Loading, by the way, is also at the company's expense. And if you want to earn a little, bring the equipment to the collection points yourself. In this case, the reward will be 10 kopecks per 1 kg.

– People must understand, – noted Yaroslav Mamoshin, Director of UPTP "BelVTI-region", – that each type of waste must be processed in a special way. We have all the conditions for this: a production base has been created, the necessary licenses have been obtained, and qualified specialists have been trained. They will dismantle the equipment, separate plastic, glass, rubber, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Useful components will be put into secondary circulation, and hazardous ones will be neutralized. Cathode ray tubes, insulation, and fine fractions of polymer mixtures are sent for disposal. The depth of processing has recently increased and is currently 65%.

Yaroslav Anatolyevich himself received his first education at the Polotsk Forestry College, where they teach you to love and protect nature. And when he started working at the enterprise, he began to understand the problem in more detail. Now he is firmly convinced that negative consequences for the environment and human health are much easier to prevent than to correct later, spending huge funds on fixing mistakes. Advanced European countries currently process up to 90% of waste, but in Belarus, as the head notes, there has also been significant progress recently.

Mechanic Alexander Novikov and Technologist Arseniy Lintovich

Last year, "BelVTI-region" collected and processed about 300 tons of electrical and electronic equipment, twice as much as in 2015. The disposal of used batteries also doubled to 6 tons, and mercury-containing lamps increased almost fivefold to 16 thousand units.

This is facilitated by the creation of a wide network of collection points: special containers for batteries, lamps, and small electronic equipment are installed in all major stores in the region. Environmental squads and other public associations of educational institutions are conducting extensive awareness campaigns among the population.

Individual enterprises and organizations are intensifying waste collection activities: for example, housing and communal services and "Vodokanals" of Polotsk and Novopolotsk, Glubokskoye Housing and Communal Services, Vitebsk Boiler and Heat Network Enterprise. The situation, according to Yaroslav Mamoshin, will continue to improve – it just requires consistent work towards results.

Larisa MALASHEnya, photos by the author. "Vitebskiye vesti".