Waste disposal in Central Asia: a serious problem that requires attention

LONDON (TCA) — Throughout Central Asia, the sight of open-air waste dumping sites is still a lot more familiar than that of incinerators, producing energy and turning residues from the process into detoxicated usable materials through chemical reactions. Instead, polluting dumps containing both domestic and industrial waste colour the landscape. And on top of that, “invisible” waste such as bacteriological, chemical and even nuclear contamination keep creeping into people’s and nature’s very lifelines through soil, surface water and air. Financials forbid instant solutions on the spot, while comprehensive solutions for the region lack political will and long term vision of individual governments.

In theory, generally speaking, the problem of waste accumulation should be considered a problem of the rich, since they can better afford to throw away what they deem redundant than the poor. But being originally a byproduct of prosperity, waste today as a problem has shifted from the rich to the poor. In the industrialized world a serious attempt is being done to recycle and transform waste into usable resources, but such attitude is still missing in Central Asia and in many poor countries around the world.

The problem of waste today has two sides: on one side it can create serious environmental problems, but on the other it can be considered a great resource through recycling and a new source of sustainable business.

Recycling is the name of the game and through it a proper sustainability can be achieved in many fields, be them related to energy or raw materials. Millions of tons of waste are recycled and reused every year all over the world but in Central Asia such attitude and education is completely missing while thinking green, recycling, saving resources and turning waste into energy and new products should be considered a top priority objective. The best way is to start from school and families developing an appropriate educational program and advertising. There is a need to promote and develop a new concept toward saving and recycling all waste and this can be done with appropriate information campaign explaining how easy it is to achieve a proper result and how effective it can be in reducing cost. A proper partnership between the public and private sectors, through advertising and social cooperation, can make our yards cleaner and develop an attitude toward recycling that should become a regular social norm.

Today recycling technology has taken incredible steps forward and in practical terms all can be recycled. Industries in different parts of the world are prepared to invest in waste recycling and to finance projects that offer an advantage both to the investor as well to the host country. What they demand is stability, and clear agreements that protect long term investment. This is the key condition in Central Asia where various countries are unable to offer such type of guarantee and it is not a matter of finance but more of political will and the capacity to guarantee long term investment.

In practical terms only two obstacles exist to a proper solution to the waste problem: on one side it is adequate education of the population, and on the other, the political will of the leadership. Everything can be recycled today — plastic, paper, metal, glass, wood, batteries, electronic parts, etc. All can be transformed into new resources to generate energy, and into new raw materials, to help countries and the entire planet to conserve as much resources as possible. If these two obstacles are removed, finance will certainly be available, and not only from international donors but also from private investors that can certainly profit from waste and its recycling.