The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine has launched a national program for the audit and waste management - Clean Ukraine.
Adviser to the Minister for International Affairs Konstantin Yarmolenko writes on his Facebook:
“Only a very few Ukrainians know that our country is simply drowning in waste and garbage. According to our experts in the Ministry of Natural Resources and independent ecologists, we are talking about a colossal volume of 36-50 billion tons of waste.
This is more than 1000 tons of waste for every Ukrainian, including pensioners and children!!! For clarity, the photo for this publication shows a person and a ball of garbage with an approximate weight of 1000 tons. So, each of us Ukrainians has the same personal 1000-ton ball of waste that weighs on us like the sword of Damocles.”
Measures taken include:
- audit of all landfills and landfills for waste storage, creation of a virtual environmental map of Ukraine with the application of all environmental violations;
- invitation of world companies that have experience and technologies for waste disposal;
- creation of applications for smartphones (iOS, Android, etc.), which will enable local residents to record “all sorts of environmental outrages” using built-in cameras.
The program "Clean Ukraine" is not designed for a year. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” the adviser to the minister quoted Confucius as saying.