Economic aspects of organic waste disposal in the Republic of Kazakhstan

¹ Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau University, Kokshetau 020000, Kazakhstan
² Daugavpils University, LV-5401 Daugavpils, Latvia
³ D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Em. Chakarov 2, 5250 Svishtov, Bulgaria

^* Corresponding author: m.petrova@ts.uni-vt.bg

Abstract

The study examines the impact of municipal solid waste on the environment and the volume of its formation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It has been established, that the main component of solid household waste is food (organic) waste, the disposal and processing of which is becoming a relevant and important direction for the development of the waste management industry in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the study was to identify, through a study of potential areas of application of organic waste, the most effective ways of using it, both from the point of view of environmental safety and from the point of view of economic efficiency. The main environmental problem is not only the increase of the amount of waste, but also the absence of its high-tech disposal and processing. In Kazakhstan, a significant part of organic waste as part of municipal solid waste continues to get to landfills, so the landfill is the most common method of waste disposal in the country. Today, there are various technologies for utilization and processing of the organic (food) fraction of municipal solid waste, including biogas production, combustion with energy recovery, composting and others. However, in order to establish a waste collection and recycling system in Kazakhstan, first of all, it is necessary to consider waste as a valuable secondary raw material. At the same time, separating food waste from the rest of the garbage will keep it dry and clean and increase the efficiency of sorting. It was found that recycling organic waste is effective not only from an environmental safety point of view, but also from an economic efficiency point of view.