Circular Economy and Digital Technologies as a Tool for Overcoming the Post-Pandemic Crisis in Russia

Abstract

In Russia, in modern conditions, the relevance of the transition to the principles of a circular economy is growing. First of all, this refers to the sphere of waste management. The hierarchy of waste management methods is officially focused on maximum use of secondary materials in production processes. But at the moment, the contribution of the waste management industry to the gross domestic product of the Russian Federation is very low (about 3%). Nowadays, a large number of valuable secondary resources stays within the flow of municipal solid waste and goes to landfills. Currently, the regional operators in the field of MSW management are responsible for organizing secondary resources circulation. In the absence of material interest, the percentage of recycling for the main types of secondary resources (paper, plastic, glass) remains quite low. In accordance with the adopted federal legislation, the principle of extended producer responsibility will be implemented in Russia, which expected to increase the percentage of involvement of secondary resources in production cycle. In the context of the adopted concept of digitalization of the Russian economy, the role of digitalization in the field of waste management is increasing in the form of the use of “smart” technologies for collecting, delivering and processing garbage.