Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Municipal solid waste (hereinafter – MSW) refers to wastes: 1) generated in residential premises during consumption by individuals (such wastes can be classified as consumption wastes); 2) goods that have lost their consumer properties during their use by individuals in residential premises for the purpose of meeting personal and household needs (such wastes can be classified as consumption wastes); 3) generated during the activities of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, and similar in composition to wastes generated in residential premises during consumption by individuals. The given definition does not directly indicate whether these wastes belong to production wastes or consumption wastes. Based on the content of the above provision of legislation, it can be concluded that MSW should be classified as consumption wastes.

In the letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia dated January 15, 2019, No. 12-50/00189-OG «On Handling of Municipal Solid Waste»¹, it is noted that the condition for the formation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is mixing various materials and products upon their loss of consumer properties, which determines the similarity in the component composition of types of waste belonging to MSW regardless of the source of generation, and the aggregate state «a mixture of materials and products». In accordance with the Waste Classification Code (FCC), the type «Municipal Wastes, Similar to Municipal Wastes on Production, Wastes from Providing Services to the Population» (code 7 30 000 00 00 0) includes the following groups containing types of waste belonging to MSW:

• 7 31 100 00 00 0 Waste from residential areas;
• 7 31 200 00 00 0 Waste from cleaning of urban and rural settlement territories, classified as MSW (municipal solid waste);
• 7 31 300 00 00 0 Plant waste from the maintenance of lawns, flower beds, shrubs and trees, classified as MSW;
• 7 33 100 00 00 0 Waste from office and residential premises of enterprises and organizations, classified as MSW;
• 7 34 100 00 00 0 Waste and sweepings from cleaning of railway and road stations, airports, terminals, ports, metro stations, classified as MSW;
• 7 34 200 00 00 0 Waste and sweepings from cleaning of rolling stock of rail, road, air and water transport, classified as MSW;
• 7 34 900 00 00 0 Other waste generated in the provision of transportation services to the population, classified as MSW;
• 7 35 000 00 00 0 Waste from the provision of wholesale and retail trade services, classified as MSW;
• 7 36 200 00 00 0 Waste (trash) from cleaning hotels, guesthouses and other temporary accommodation facilities, classified as MSW;
• 7 36 400 00 00 0 Waste (trash) from cleaning premises of organizations providing social services, classified as MSW;
• 7 37 00 00 00 0 Waste generated in the provision of services in the field of education, art, entertainment, recreation and sports, relating to MSW;
• 7 39 40 00 00 0 Waste generated by hairdressing salons, beauty parlors, tanning salons, baths and saunas, relating to MSW.

The rules for handling municipal solid waste have been approved by the Government of the Russian Federation's decree dated November 12, 2016, No. 1156². Legal entities whose activities, in addition to industrial waste, generate municipal solid waste are required to enter into an agreement with the regional operator. Legal entities whose activities result in the generation of municipal solid waste have the right to refuse to enter into an agreement with the regional operator if they own or otherwise legally possess a waste disposal facility located within the boundaries of the land plot where such municipal solid waste is generated, or on an adjacent land plot relative to the land plot where such municipal solid waste is generated (Article 24.7 of the commented law).

Furthermore, paragraph 13.4 of the commented law provides that waste accumulation may be carried out through their separate storage by type of waste, groups of waste, and groups of homogeneous waste (separate accumulation). In accordance with paragraph 8 of article 12 of the commented law, burial of waste containing useful components subject to utilization is prohibited. The list of types of production and consumption waste containing useful components whose burial is prohibited has been approved by the Government of the Russian Federation Order dated July 25, 2017 No. 1589-r³. This regulatory mechanism for waste management is aimed at stimulating the waste utilization industry, development of which is generally a priority direction of state policy in the field of waste management according to article 3 of the commented law. Thus, economic entities are entitled to independently organize separate waste collection for further disposal or to enter into an agreement with the regional operator for handling municipal solid waste.

A residential premises is defined as an isolated room that is real estate and suitable for permanent residence of citizens (complies with established sanitary and technical rules and norms, other legislative requirements) (paragraph 2 of Article 15 of the Russian Federation Housing Code). Currently, difficulties arise in classifying certain types of waste as MSW. For example, in residential premises, during use by individuals, batteries may be generated (chemical power sources that belong to the first and second hazard classes). Repairing a residential premises can lead to the generation of construction waste. For this reason, questions arise about whether the corresponding waste should be classified as MSW.