Residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region are protesting the construction of a waste landfill near Lake Ladoga.

Residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region filed A collective appeal from Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Dzhambulat Khatuov asking him to verify the legality of the site chosen for the construction of the Rakhya waste processing complex (WPC) in the Vsevolozhsk District, as well as to reconsider the very logic of waste reform in the region.

The threat to Lake Ladoga and the results of an independent examination

As stated in the appeal, the Rakhya wastewater treatment plant site is located 2,7 km from Lake Ladoga, within its drainage basin, in a marshy and waterlogged environment with high groundwater levels. This area is directly connected to the Morye and Ragozinka rivers, as well as the Lake Ladoga basin. Lake Ladoga is crucial for the drinking water supply of St. Petersburg and part of the Leningrad Region.

An independent environmental assessment (IEA) has already indicated that the project does not comply with environmental and sanitary-epidemiological requirements.

Activists' demands and similar issues in other regions

People are asking not only for a federal-level review of the feasibility of the Rakhya wastewater treatment plant's placement and construction in the Lake Ladoga catchment area, but also for a review of whether the actual logic of the regional reform aligns with the stated goals: reducing waste disposal and introducing recycling, rather than simply redistributing waste flows between new facilities.

NeMoskva reported on a similar problem in the Tuapse District of Krasnodar Krai. Residents there protest They protest the construction of a landfill near the village of Defanovka, 150 meters from the Shapsukho River. Only 10% of the waste is planned to be sorted; the rest will be buried.