Sverdlovsk Region is Russia’s most waste-polluted region, with the amount of accumulated waste coming to 8.3 billion tons, the region’s Ministry of Natural Resources reports.

The region produces 160 million tons to 180 million tons of waste a year, of which 100 million tons get deposited in 1,350 storages with the total area of nearly 20,000 hectares (and this is comparable with some European countries). According to the Ministry, the lion’s share of waste (5.3 billion tons, or 63.2%) is produced by the building industry, followed by the ore-mining and metallurgical enterprises, with their 2.7 billion tons, or 32.7% of waste. Power engineering and agriculture are to blame as well. As for consumption waste, its share in the total amount comes to less than .3%. The alarming thing is that the region’s full of stored waste and yet has not got a single recycling or deactivating facility. Waste produced by companies like Russian Chrome 1915 and some others is very hazardous, given especially the fact that unauthorized dumping of consumption waste is a growing problem as well.

'Waste dumping and storage destroys the landscape, deprives agriculture of otherwise suitable land, pollutes the soil, and damages the region’s air and water greatly,’ the Ministry warns.