Environmental Practices of Waste Management in the Small Towns of the European Part in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study is determined by the negative consequences for the environment from the constant increase in the amount of municipal solid waste. The most vulnerable in this situation are small towns in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The remoteness, inaccessibility, as well as the difficult socio-economic situation of these settlements are serious obstacles to achieving both the effectiveness of the implementation of the reform of production and consumption waste management, and the goals of sustainable development of the region. The purpose of the article is to identify the value foundations prevailing in environmental consciousness and the prevailing types of environmental behavior of the population of small towns in the European part of the Russian Arctic in the field of solid waste management. Materials and Methods. The article presents the results of an empirical study conducted by a questionnaire survey in August-November 2020 in the Arctic territories of the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk region. The number of respondents is 1303. The questionnaire method is used to carry out a mass representative survey of residents of the Arctic territories on the problem of municipal solid waste. Statistical methods for processing quantitative data makes it possible to identify the main correlations between variables in relation to grassroots practices in the management of municipal solid waste by gender, age and place of residence of the respondents. Results. The paper shows the findings of a sociological study, during which the peculiarities of the perception of the population of small towns in the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk region of environmental problems were identified and an assessment of the degree of threat to the environment from illegal dumps and household waste was given. The authors studied the direct practices of handling household waste and the willingness of respondents to change the traditional poorly environmentally oriented behavior to environmentally conscious actions. Discussion and Conclusion. The study showed that the problem of the increasing amount of MSW is relevant and causes a high degree of concern among the population. At the same time, the majority of respondents implement behavioral practices that indirectly affect the environment. The decisive problem for the population of remote areas of the Russian Arctic is the poor organization of the waste management process: lack of investment attractiveness for business, low level of infrastructure development, little funding, which determines low motivation and mobilization of the population to master various environmental practices. The results obtained can be used by regional and municipal authorities, regional operators and specialists of environmental nongovernment organizations.