Особенности и эколого-экономическая целесообразность внешней торговли отходами в Российской Федерации

Abstract

Despite the low proportion of recycled waste against the total one generated in the Russian Federation, it is imported into the country specifically for recycling. At the same time some of the generated waste is exported. The purpose of this study is to assess the current waste export and import indicators in Russia and any dialectical and institutional constraints on increasing the rate of waste recycling, which determine the ecological and economic rationale of international waste trade operations. The main sources of data featured reports of the Federal Customs Service and the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, and the Unified Interdepartmental Statistical Information System and UN Comtrade databases. Econometric methods, cluster analysis of Russian regions, analysis of any regulatory impact and content analysis of laws and regulations were applied and carried out within the study. It is demonstrated that the external waste-related economic operations in the Russian Federation have certain peculiarities against other countries. Their being in place is driven by both dialectical and institutional factors. However, the actors’ opportunistic economic interests rather than the environmental ones and the extent of the country take the lead. Some tools to reduce the transaction costs of transboundary waste movement and to increase the waste management efficiency are proposed. The study is novel in that it analyzes the foreign waste trade transactions of Russia that have not been comprehensively studied before. The theoretical relevance of the research consists in its finding new factors that drive the transboundary waste movement. Recommendations on improving the export and import regulation, reducing the rate of waste generation and increasing the recycling one in Russia, which would both enhance the economic efficiency of companies and provide equitable solution to environmental problems faced by the country, are of practical value.