The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has acknowledged that there is no complete waste treatment system in Russia, there is no separate collection system, which could be an environmental disaster for some areas. The President ' s direct line with citizens broadcasts on Thursday, 14 April, the Rosia 24 television channel.

He noted that only half of all waste in Russia was disposed of, the rest was buried. " This process in most cases uncontrolled and criminalized " , he said.

Putin stated that the plants would work efficiently and economically viable if the so-called utilisation fee was to be carried out.

" This fee was initially scheduled for 2017. Why? It is because of economic difficulties, so as not to load an additional producer so that it does not reduce jobs in time to pay wages. The Government considered that if the utilitative collection were to be loaded, the industry would be very difficult, but should be in place since the beginning of 2017 " , the Head of State reported.

Putin called three options to deal with recycling. " The first is when those who produce these debris, enterprises, they are large self-sufficient, they can themselves build the recycling plants " , he said. The second solution is that enterprises may join together and hire an operator who will deal with garbage disposal. The third option is that recycling is not economically viable. In this case, the State must itself build such plants.

In January 2016, Putin signed a decree on the observance of the Environment Year in 2017 with a view to drawing attention to environmental development and biodiversity conservation. The Head of State also decided to form an organizational committee and to appoint him as the chairman of his administration. Putin has also instructed the Government to develop and approve a plan of major activities for the Environment Year.

Amendments to the Waste Act were adopted at the end of 2014, requiring producers and importers to dispose of goods released and imported. In September 2015, 36 categories of goods were approved for which fees would have to be paid.