The authorities approved a single waste operator for St. Petersburg and the region

He will be able to qualify for a contract worth ₽100 billion

The head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Dmitry Kobylkin "sees no obstacles" to the creation of a single operator for waste management in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Such a company will be able to apply for a 10-year contract, which is estimated at ₽100 billion

The Ministry of Natural Resources sees no legal obstacles to the creation of a single regional operator for waste management in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. “The area of activity of a regional operator is the territory or part of the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. <...> At the same time, the legislation does not restrict a legal entity in concluding agreements with several subjects, "says a letter from the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Dmitry Kobylkin to President Vladimir Putin, sent on September 2 (RBC has a copy of the document at its disposal; a federal official has confirmed its authenticity).

Kobylkin wrote this letter as part of the execution of the order to work out the issue of creating a single interregional operator on the territory of the two subjects. RBC sent inquiries to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Presidential Representative Dmitry Peskov.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, who oversees environmental issues in the government, said in an interview with RBC that she also supports the creation of a single operator. “Cities of federal significance initially cannot fulfill many of their functions without the participation of adjacent regions. Accordingly, I support the approach - to consider the issue of waste disposal for such agglomerations (city and region - RBC) exactly in a complex, ”she said.

Why a single operator is needed

The authorities of the Leningrad region put forward several arguments in favor of creating a single operator:

• Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region, at a meeting with Putin on June 10, explained the need for a single operator as follows: "This will allow us to combine the streams of both city and regional waste, implement a single strategy for waste recycling, using modern technologies." According to him, it is necessary to get away from primitive methods of waste processing - simple waste storage. The President, in turn, replied that “we all need to work here together”.
• The press service of the government of the Leningrad region, RBC reported that two thirds of the waste entering the Leningrad region is generated by residents of St. Petersburg.
• Nikolai Khasiev, head of the Management Company for Waste Management in the Leningrad Region, said that it is now impossible to control all transport that carries waste to the Leningrad Region. “If there is a single operator in the regions, the problem of unauthorized landfills will be solved,” he added.

After meeting with the President, Drozdenko wrote a letter to the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources (a copy is at the disposal of RBC), in which he indicated that the current federal legislation does not contain legal norms allowing the creation of a single interregional operator on the territory of two or more subjects. Therefore, he asked Minister Kobylkin to amend the law "On production and consumption waste" in order to provide the regions with the opportunity to jointly conduct a competition to select a single company.

“Negotiations are underway with the administration of St. Petersburg regarding interaction in the issues of waste reform. The option of creating a single operator and concluding an agreement between the entities in the field of MSW management is being considered. The final decision has not yet been made, ”the press service of the government of the Leningrad Region said. The press service of the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Nikolai Bondarenko also confirmed that work continues on the instructions of the heads of the two regions on the issue of interaction in the field of solid waste management - recycling, disposal and disposal of waste.

“There is a benefit in the merger, since we are talking about business concentration. It is obvious that building one large facility for sorting and recycling waste from two regions, which will always have raw materials, is more profitable than several small ones, without guarantees of full load, in different places, ”said Natalya Belyaeva, Deputy Head of the Committee for Waste Processing and Recycling resources of "Business Russia". In addition, it will be easier for such an operator to attract borrowed funds, and for the authorities to control its work.

How much will a single operator earn

In St. Petersburg, 1.8 million tons of solid municipal waste is generated annually, in the Leningrad region - about 700 thousand tons more per year, says the head of the association "Clean Country" Ruslan Gubaidullin (unites regional operators for waste management). The tariff for garbage collection in the Leningrad Region in 2019 was 4.9 thousand rubles. per 1 ton, but in 2020 it was reduced to 4.2 thousand rubles. and practically equaled the tariff in St. Petersburg (about 4.2 thousand rubles per 1 ton, or 135 rubles per person). Thus, the cost of removing 2.5 million tons of waste in the two regions may be at least 10.6 billion rubles. in year.

The tariff for a single operator is unlikely to grow by more than 7-9%, up to 4.5-4.6 thousand rubles. per 1 ton, says Maxim Khudalov, head of the sustainable development risk assessment group at ACRA. In this case, St. Petersburg, which planned to spend about 80 billion rubles on waste disposal. in ten years, you will not have to increase costs, the expert said. In general, the company will be able to apply for a ten-year contract worth more than 100 billion rubles, Khudalov concludes. But, according to him, the operator will have to invest in the expansion of the park (about 600 million rubles) and personnel.

Who is taking out the trash now

Since 2019, a single regional operator has been operating in the Leningrad Region - the Management Company for Waste Management in the Leningrad Region (UKOOLO), with which a ten-year contract for 25 billion rubles was signed. It was this company that Drozdenko suggested that Kobylkin be given the status of a regional operator in St. Petersburg for a period until the end of 2021, until a tender is held. In St. Petersburg itself, according to the garbage reform, regional operators should appear only from 2022.

25% of UKOOLO belongs to the authorities of the Leningrad Region, another 75% belongs to Aneks-Finance. Kommersant linked this company with Bank Saint Petersburg. “Bank Saint Petersburg has nothing to do with these companies,” the bank’s press service told RBC.

Nikolay Khasiev told RBC that UCOOLO is ready to participate in the tender for servicing the south of St. Petersburg together with "Spetstrans No. 1" Anatoly Yazev, a local major player in the waste transportation market. In November 2019, Aneks-Finance and Spetstrans No. 1 created the United Regional Operator (EPO) company, it can become a single operator in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, Khasiev expects. “We will participate in the competition for this position if such a decision is made,” Yazev noted, without specifying whether he will participate in the competition alone or with a partner.

The company "Plant MPBO-2" now has the right to work in the northern zone of St. Petersburg, but it has not yet begun work, according to a letter from the Governor of the Leningrad Region to the Ministry of Natural Resources. He offers to terminate the contract with this company. RBC sent a request to Plant MPBO-2.

Source: https://www.rbc.ru/