Editor’s note: While the will to recycle, and to improve sustainability in general, certainly exists – scaling this into nationwide practices requires policies that support green behaviors. To start with: recycling. Ukraine is far behind much of the developed world when it comes to waste management – Sergiy Savchuk, the head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE,) has said that 93% of Ukraine’s household waste is transported to landfills… appalling when compared with Sweden, which recycles 99% of its garbage. The reason is largely because Ukraine lacks systems to sort and process waste. We asked Kyiv residents if they recycle, and if so – how.
Dmytro Hovorun
University professor
At first it was unusual, but then I grew accustomed to it. Now it is like a duty. Nations and clever people are making money on it, while we are losing. And we aren’t even talking about the environment and other things.
This is how our lack of culture expresses itself: let me see how people sort their waste, and I will tell you who they are. And this shows if the nation is mature and whether it has good prospects for the future or not.
I’ve just seen a film about the United Arab Emirates — recycling is not a problem for them there. Maybe we lack “propaganda” for this, in the good sense of the word. Many Ukrainians try hard to recycle anyway.
Dmytro Hovorun, university professor (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Datsyuk Halyna
I just sort plastic bottles, glass, fruits and vegetables and paper. We have bins close to home: glass goes into one, plastic goes into another, one puts paper just next to a bin, and there is one for food, too.
Unluckily, what still not resolved is that we put waste into plastic garbage bags. And I wonder how to improve it. People in the countryside have it easier: they can just dig it in and be done with it. For the rest of us, maybe paper bags or boxes could be a solution, as they degrade. I think Ukrainians should first learn how they do it abroad and apply their practices here.
I do not think that I waste time recycling, for I want my grand- and grand-grand children to live here, in Ukraine.
Datsyuk Halyna (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Olena Tkachenko
Biologist
I try to (sort my waste). This is not too easy, because you need to organize places (in your own home) to store different (kinds of waste).
We surely need to get rid of the plastic bags. We used to live without them, and we can do so now. We should substitute them for paper bags or multiuse canvas bags.
Olena Tkachenko, biologist (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Maksym Potapenko
Student
I try to separate my waste, but sometimes I lack time. I study a lot, so I forget to sort my waste sometimes. This is not difficult to do, however. For example, I have several bags for waste. I put different kinds of waste into a corresponding bag.
If only I alone do so, however, this will have no effect on the world. What we need for everybody is to understand the problem. Ideally, this should happen through large-scale public awareness campaigns, but the problem is that this should be done in an acceptable form; otherwise, people will find it obtrusive.
Maksym Potapenko, student (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Mariya Reshetylo
Lawyer
I do not sort my waste because I lack the options where to throw it away. In my neighborhood, there is only one refuse bin, and this one is for general waste only. Provided there were recycling bins, I would sort my waste.
Mariya Reshetylo, lawyer (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Zoya Dudnyk
Lab manager in university
No, I do not sort it, but I tried. Unluckily, we do not have the place where to recycle, so it is not convenient. What shall I do with it then?
And I am not sure whether this responsibility should be put on us. Abroad, in other countries, there are sinks shredding biodegradable rubbish and bringing it to the fields for good use through special pipes and channels.
First of all, we should provide options for sorting the waste, and then to foster a culture of recycling, because without culture, it is unlikely that we will have good environment.
Zoya Dudnyk, lab amanger in university (Oleg Petrasiuk)
John Smith
IT professional
At the entrance to Taras Shevchenko Park they have big bins for glass and plastic – those I use.
Actually, recycling in Kyiv is improving. I have noticed people selling coffee in bamboo cups. People are thinking about it more and more in the capital.
I would get rid of all plastic completely. This is one of my personal crusades: I am completely anti-plastic.
John Smith, IT professional (Oleg Petrasiuk)
