Waste issues and their regional specifics in Russia

Waste generation and utilization have recently become most urgent issues in the sphere of providing ecological sustainability and environment protection in Russia. On the one hand, the reason for this is rapidly growing volume of production and consumer waste, on the other hand - insufficiently high development level in waste management. However, active business activity associated with the return of waste in the secondary economic turnover can be considered as a possible source of economic growth of territories. The aim of the present research is to study processes that take place in sphere of generation and utilization of waste in constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The study uses extensive factual material, including statistical observations for the period from 2003 to 2014, and the data of foreign statistics. The following methods are used: method of averages, comparative, grouping, and graphic methods. The author examines major trends in the field of generation of industrial and household waste, the problems of organizing their use, the issues related to the financing of relevant activities. The article analyzes changes in the legal support of powers of constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of waste management. The author draws a conclusion about the necessity to implement an integrated approach to waste management, including measures for waste prevention, its return to economic turnover, and minimization of its impact on the environment.