President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a series of proposals aimed at environmental protection, ensuring ecological stability, improving waste management systems, and expanding protected natural areas Thursday.
The presentation included an analysis of environmental violations, noting that while over 47,000 administrative offenses were identified in 2024, that number rose to more than 59,000 in 2025. It was highlighted that under the current system, fine amounts are not proportionate to the actual environmental damage caused. Consequently, for some enterprises, it has become more convenient to pay a fine and continue operations rather than addressing the violation itself.
To address this, proposals were made to revise financial sanctions for legal entities by linking them to the extent of environmental damage, bringing the system closer to international practices. Effective financial measures are envisioned for cases such as illegal mining of non-metallic materials from riverbeds, water pollution, illegal cutting of trees and shrubs, exceeding atmospheric emission limits, failing to prevent dust and sand at construction sites, and burning waste in unauthorized areas.
In this process, the presentation suggested to merge administrative fines and compensation for environmental damage into a single financial sanction. This procedure would allow the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change to apply sanctions in cases where an enterprise admits fault, while disputed cases would be resolved through the court system.
Waste management operations also underwent a comprehensive review. In 2025, sanitation services reached 88% of local neighborhoods (mahallas). This progress was supported by the delivery of specialized machinery, motorized scooters, and waste containers. Additionally, greenery was planted around 132 landfills, while 47 sites were decommissioned.
For the current year, the goal is to expand coverage to 90% by supplying sanitation companies with more equipment and containers. Plans are also in place to reclaim 18 landfills and reduce the total number of landfill sites by 50% by 2030.
The review emphasized the importance of lowering logistics costs and easing the pressure on landfills by building waste transfer stations to boost sorting and recycling volumes. To this end, 28 stations are slated for construction in 2026, with a total of 70 stations expected by 2030.
The president was also updated on major investment projects focused on waste-to-energy production. Construction is currently underway on six plants—valued at $933 million—across the Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent provinces. Once operational, these facilities will process 3.6 million tons of solid household waste annually, generating 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. Following this, instructions were issued to initiate a second phase involving five additional plants with an investment of $633 million.
A proposal was introduced to create the first integrated platform for hazardous waste management within the CIS province. Planned for the Navoi province, this investment project envisions a comprehensive system for the laboratory classification of hazardous materials, the establishment of specialized landfills, the production of RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) from waste, and the implementation of advanced physicochemical and thermal processing technologies.
With an investment value of $260 million, the facility will have the capacity to process 330,000 tons of hazardous waste annually. Its realization is expected to bolster ecological stability, introduce cutting-edge standards and technologies, and facilitate the training of local specialists.
The presentation also highlighted the growing challenge of construction waste, which rose from 1.2 million tons in 2017 to 1.9 million tons in 2025. In response, officials proposed a digital platform to provide end-to-end oversight of construction debris—from the point of origin to final disposal. This system would feature real-time GPS tracking of waste transport and the establishment of dedicated sorting and recycling complexes at landfill sites.
Furthermore, the proposal seeks to make proof of proper waste disposal a mandatory requirement for the final approval of construction projects. To ensure compliance, authorities plan to use photo and video surveillance to identify illegal dumping and introduce significantly stricter penalties for violators.
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