Tashkent to update its waste management system

Tashkent with a population of around two million five hundred thousand residents is the most populous city in Central Asia. According to Sherzod Kattakhudjayev, Deputy Director-General of SUE “Makhsustrans”, the capital produces about 2 thousand tons of waste per day what strengthens the demand for active measures to update waste recycling systems in the city’s mahallas and districts.

A new waste collection system coordinated in private-public partnership will be gradually applied from March the 1st, 2021, and carried out in three phases. The first stage will be implemented in the city’s mahallas, where the garbage for disposal will be separated into recyclable and non-recyclable waste, as the consumers will be provided with free colored containers. The list of items will be determined by the city councils. The second stage is set to begin in 2022.

It is planned to collect solid household waste in individual residential sectors of all territories served by state unitary enterprise.

And finally, the third stage is to start in 2023. The waste collection will be implemented in city districts with a variety of solutions for recycling items categorized as “recyclable”, “non-recyclable”, “organic” and others.

Reduced tariffs for waste disposal will be established, taking into account waste sorted by consumers. The share of the private sector will be brought to 50% by the end of 2022. And the level of solid waste processing will be increased from 8% to 30%.