The student forum "Comparative analysis of the environmental performance of Ukraine and Europe" was held on April 25, 2017. The forum was organized by teachers of the department of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Balanced Nature Management and students of "Economy and Nature" faculty. In general, the problems of waste recycling accumulation and utilization and also environmental objects were discussed by the students and teachers.
As the ecological situation is one of the main problem today, the forum definitely has a great importance for environment protection activity.
While Ukraine does not know what to do with the billions tons of rubbish, Europe is widely using it in various fields of production, earning a lot of money on this.
In Ukraine there are 6.5 thousand legal and about 35 thousand illegal dumps, the total area of which is 7% of the territory, it can be compared to the area of the whole of Denmark (over 43,000 sq. km). And the situation is only getting worse each year. According to ecologists estimates, Ukraine has gained 54 million cubic meters of waste; dumps are annually replenished with about 15-17 million tons. Only tenth part of the collected rubbish is processed.
Today, the country has four incinerators, but only the one called "Energy" is working in Kyiv.
There is nowhere to utilize the rubbish, because it will be decomposing hundreds of years. And if even start to sort and recycle it, vast areas of fertile land will be recovered no sooner than 300 years.
The tragedy on May 28 at Hrybovychi dump near Lviv again reminded the country about global environmental issues. Almost every village has the problems with waste and there does not exist any rubbish recycling sector in Ukraine. While the Ukrainians think where to utilize the rubbish, the countries of EU have another trouble - where to find it. As the processing of garbage can be the very good business. In developed countries, recycled waste is a valuable product of international trade. It is possible to get heat and electricity from recycled raw material.
In Europe, each country has special containers for rubbish sorting. Usually, the waste is separated into several main categories: plastic, paper, glass, metal and organic waste. One of the leaders of rubbish recycling is Sweden. Here 99% of waste of the country is recycled. Using recycled materials can provide homes with heat and electricity. And if they have more waste - their own energy needs would be better provided. In Sweden this problem is decided in the way of rubbish import from other countries.
The situation is similar in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In countries waste dumps are closed, because 97% of waste is recycled. By the way, the entire cement industry in these countries is working on rubbish and tires burning. In Germany, there is even a so-called "rubbish" police, which fines the violators.
Even neighboring Poland approached dramatically to the problem of waste in the country. A special law put an end to illegal dumps, and people began to sort waste.
But not all European countries have such a consolatory situation with waste recycling as Sweden or Germany. Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic countries are famous for giant dumps and the lack of appropriate plants. They are one of the leading suppliers of waste to leaders of waste recycling.
Alternative organic fuel - pellets is produced from unsuitable wood, straw, etc.
Material from recycled plastic has also a huge demand. First, bottles are processed into granules, later they are used for household appliances, pipes, toys production. Especially it is a popular material among owners of 3D-printers.
Speaking about waste potential, it can be sorted, recycled, composted, burnt, also it is possible to use produced methane. Only Lviv dump produces 10 million cubic meters of methane per year - says the expert.
Waste paper is recycled into newsprint and toilet paper, cloth, roofing material, cardboard.
Through special processing of used tires, the raw material is later used to make rugs, floors, soles of shoes, covering for tennis courts and construction of roads.
Leaves from the trees, which in Ukraine are often burnt or simply taken to dumps are an excellent fertilizer for the land.
Recycled glass materials can be sold to specialized plants that produce bricks, tiles, water filters, ceramics.
Scrap, especially non-ferrous metals, is also very beneficial in the rubbish business. Molten metal can be exposed to multiple processing, without losing its properties.
As Martynenko Zhanna Oleksandrivna, ecology teacher said: "Nowadays, Ukrainian government actively tries to develop international environmental cooperation participating in international meetings, conferences and seminars for stabilizing and improving the ecological situation ...". So we also should not stand aside the problems that should be solved not only at national but also at international level. And when Ukraine has already put the foundation for a better future, let support the dissemination of ecological information, implementation of ecological innovation and raise the ecological consciousness of society!