President Shavkat Mirziyoyev familiarized himself with a presentation of projects for recycling household waste, producing electricity and products from it.
According to the presidential press service, 14 million tons of waste are generated annually in Uzbekistan, but only 4-5% of this volume is recycled. While, more than 7 million tons of greenhouse gases and 43 thousand tons of toxic leachates generated at waste landfills are emitted into the atmosphere and penetrate the soil.
The Ministry of Environment, together with foreign investors, has developed a number of projects. It is planned to build 8 waste incineration plants and process landfill gas at the Akhangaran landfill, investing about US$ 1.3 billion.
For example, two plants are planned to be erected in the Andijan and Tashkent provinces due to direct investments of the Chinese company CAMC Engineering in the amount of 350 million dollars. They will process 4,000 tons of waste per day and generate 630 million kWh of electricity per year.
Another Chinese company, Shanghai SUS Environment, plans to invest $310 million in direct investment and build two plants in the Samarkand and Kashkadarya provinces. They will process 3,000 tons of waste per day and generate 480 million kWh of electricity per year.
A plant for the Bukhara and Navoi provinces is to be erected using $200 million from the UAE-based Tadweer Group. The facilities will be set up to process 1,500 tons of waste per day and generate 363 million kWh of electricity per year.
The project with the Korean Sejin involves attracting $55 million to generate electricity from gas generated at a landfill in the Akhangaran district of the Tashkent province. The plant's capacity is expected to be 16 MW.
"In general, these projects will ensure the rational use of solid municipal waste. More than 4.7 million tons of waste will be burned annually and 2.1 billion kWh of electricity will be generated worth $97 million. This will also save 152 million cubic meters of natural gas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4 million tons. 1,200 new jobs will be created," the statement said.
The projects are planned to be implemented in 2025-2027 in the Andijan, Bukhara, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Namangan, Samarkand, Syrdarya, Fergana, Tashkent provinces and Tashkent city.
The head of state especially emphasized the social significance of the projects.
"These are not just factories, but one of the game changing issues. The suitability of our lands and waters, the health of the population, the cleanliness of the air, and the stability of the energy sector depend on this area. If waste is collected correctly and recycled more, the ecological balance will improve, nature will become cleaner, and society will change,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed those responsible to make these projects exemplary and increase their number in the provinces.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev set the goal to develop a “road map” to increase the number and balanced development of such projects in all provinces.
The September 26 presidential decree set up the Agency for Waste Management and Circular Economy Development. It will be engaged in the implementation of modern methods of collecting, sorting, rendering harmless, processing, burning, recycling and destroying waste.
It is expected that through the development of the circular economy, the environmental situation will stabilize, the sanitary condition will improve, and the incidence of dangerous diseases among the population will decrease. Alternative energy, raw materials and organic fertilizers will be obtained from waste. Eco-industrial zones will be created on the territory of waste landfills.
