Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry has drafted regulations that would require manufacturers to produce 100-percent recyclable products and packaging, or pay pollution fees, according to the newspaper Kommersant, citing a letter from the ministry to the government. (The Telegram channel Zelenyi Smii, or Green Serpent, posted a copy of the document.)
Russian products and packaging are currently required to be between 5 and 35 percent recyclable, or manufacturers pay a pollution penalty. Last year, the state collected 2.2 billion rubles ($32.9 million) in these “eco fees.” Raising the recycling threshold to 100 percent could increase this revenue to 136 billion rubles ($2 billion), says Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry.
Federal officials also project that the new regulations could raise prices on affected goods by 0.25–1.5 percent. Ekaterina Sinogeikina, the head of the consulting firm “Euroexpert,” told Kommersant that prices could spike by as much as two percent, and she warns that the new measures could drive many companies out of business.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Gordeyev has instructed Russia’s Finance Ministry, Industry and Trade Ministry, and Economic Development Ministry to study the environmental protection proposal. In 2017, the Natural Resources Ministry actually opposed a similar recycling initiative by the Industry and Trade Ministry.