Analysis of Russian and World Experience in Solving Problems of Waste Management at the Regional Level

Today, the accumulation of municipal solid waste has become a serious threat to the environment and human health and a global problem for the humankind. Under these conditions, new waste management practices are becoming increasingly complex and include infrastructure, managerial, financial and socio-cultural components. The work deals with the development of waste management policies in the European Union. The analysis of the mechanisms and tools used in the European Union to solve the main problems of waste management, as well as the assessment of the achieved results, allow us to conclude that the EU strategy for the management of municipal solid waste brings positive results. In the current situation, the Russian organizations can use the most advanced international experiences in the field of waste management. The analysis of Russian and world experience in resolving waste management problems at the regional level revealed interconnected problems that hinder the development of solid municipal waste management in Russia. The main problems considered in the study are the following: 1. contradictions between the Russian legislation and international standards in the field of waste management; 2. lack of involvement of local authorities in organizing the solid municipal waste management; 3. lack of industrial regional and municipal infrastructure for municipal solid waste processing; 4. lack of a system for the separate collection of solid municipal waste; 5. inconsistency of interests between entities in the field of waste management. The solution of these problems will create the basis for the unified national strategy for organizing solid municipal waste management processes. The implementation of the national strategy in the field of solid municipal waste management will ensure the development of the regional environmental programs, mechanisms and tools that can achieve the same high results as obtained in the leading countries of the European Union, USA, China.