Retailers predict empty shelves due to garbage reform

According to RBC, a letter from retailers was sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Agriculture. The claims of AKORT (Association of Retail Companies) and AKIT (Internet Trade Companies Association) caused a possible ban on the sale of goods not included in the register under the waste accounting system.

"The application of this prohibition in the conditions proposed by the draft law with a high degree of probability can lead to empty shelves in trade objects and a reduction / nullification of the choice in the range of online stores", - the authors of the letter indicate.

Retailers emphasize that if the bill is passed, there will be great risks of "blocking legal sales channels for a huge number of goods". The Association of Trading Companies of Manufacturers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK) supported the position of AKORT and AKIT and sent its own appeals to the relevant ministries.

In turn, the head of the "Russian ecological operator" Denis Butsaev said that there are no prerequisites for empty shelves.

It's worth reminding that the Ministry of Natural Resources has prepared amendments expanding the responsibility of producers for production and consumption waste. These amendments are needed to control the payment of eco-harvest by producers. The department expects that after the implementation of the reform, the collection will grow to 136 billion rubles. Last year it amounted to 4 billion rubles.

We also note that in its Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko said that the government is already considering the idea of banning disposable tableware made of materials that do not decompose in nature for a long time. First of all, we are talking about plastic. The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed that it is necessary to stimulate waste recycling and move to separate waste collection.