"You should get your face punched for this!" Residents of Gorki, a Moscow region town where a landfill has been smoldering for two months, have called on the Ministry of Ecology inspector to resign.
The landfill is located in the village of Gorki, next to the museum-reserve where Lenin spent the last years of his life. According to a NeMoskva subscriber, the garbage caught fire in early July and is still smoldering: when the wind blows, the residential area is filled with the smell of burnt rubber and plastic.
"There's a haze over the streets, it's impossible to sleep with the window open," one resident told NeMoskva. "I won't even mention the smell—that's a whole other story."
People are outraged that even after the fire, illegal metal and plastic burning continues at the landfill: this is confirmed by the results of night raids conducted by local administration officials.
On August 22, residents held a public meeting, which attracted about 50 people. A representative of the landfill administration admitted there was nothing he could do: "When it rains, it starts steaming and smelling."
He promised to remove the smoldering garbage within two weeks.
"Where should we move for the time being?" people asked. "Maybe you could move this pile under your windows and breathe it in?"
One of the residents suggested "punching in the face" the owner of the landfill, whose stench is being inhaled by children and pregnant women.
In response to complaints about trash burning, Ministry of Ecology inspector Sergei Gulko advised calling the police. He was told that the police don't respond to such calls and was advised to verify this for himself by calling.
"But I don't live here," Gulko declared. "Then you don't give a damn, because you don't live here!" the crowd protested, calling for his resignation.
When asked how much he was paid to ensure that the Ministry of Ecology turned a blind eye to this disgrace, Sergei Gulko replied: “They paid him their entire pockets.”
🔸About how and why landfills burn in Russia — Read in our special project "Trash and Flame"
