The history of trash heaps

垃圾堆的历史

Rubbish is becoming a political problem in Russia

垃圾正在成为俄罗斯的一个政治问题

Will more recycling solve it?

更多的回收会解决这个问题吗?

Jun 29th 2019 | MOSCOW

HEAPS OF PLASTIC bottles and containers fill bins reaching towards the ceiling in a warehouse on Moscow’s southern outskirts. At weekends hundreds of people line up to offload carefully sorted rubbish at Sobirator, a non-profit centre, one of a handful of recycling sites in the Russian capital. “For more than 20 years, trash didn’t worry anyone,” says Valeria Korosteleva, Sobirator’s head. “We have a lot of territory, so everything went straight to the dump.”

在莫斯科南郊的一个仓库里，成堆的塑料瓶和集装箱装满了箱子，箱子一直堆积到天花板。周末，成百上千的人在Sobirator(一家非营利性的垃圾回收中心)排起长队，把精心分类的垃圾卸下来。Sobirator是俄罗斯首都为数不多的几个垃圾回收站点之一。Sobirator负责人瓦莱里娅•科奥斯特洛娃(Valeria Korosteleva)表示:“20多年来，人们对垃圾并不担心，”“我们有广大的领土，所以所有东西都直接被扔进了垃圾堆。”

That may be about to change. Last week Moscow city authorities announced a plan to introduce recycling bins in courtyards across the city by the end of the year. For Russia this would amount to a minor revolution: while EU member states recover an average of 60% of their waste, Russia recycles just 4%, a World Bank study found in 2012. That means that landfill has taken up the slack. Such dumps cover some 4m hectares in Russia, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.

这种情况可能即将改变。上周，莫斯科市政府宣布了一项计划，计划在今年年底前在全市的庭院里引入垃圾桶。世界银行2012年的一项研究发现，对俄罗斯来说，这将是一场小规模的革命:欧盟成员国平均回收60%的垃圾，而俄罗斯仅回收4%。这意味着垃圾堆已经占据了不少领土。在俄罗斯，这样的垃圾场占地约400万公顷，相当于瑞士的面积。

词汇

Slack/松弛部分；富余部分；煤屑；懈怠

Hectare/公顷

Yet Moscow’s leaders have hardly undergone a green awakening. Instead, rubbish has become a political hot potato. Landfill sites around the capital are full; Moscow plans to ship its rubbish to the provinces. Residents of those regions have, unsurprisingly, balked at being treated as Moscow’s bin. “It’s about dignity,” says Elena Kalinina, an activist.

然而，莫斯科的领导人几乎没有经历过环保意识觉醒。相反，垃圾已经成为政治上的烫手山芋。首都周边的垃圾填埋场基本已经堆满;莫斯科计划将垃圾运往各省。不出所料，这些地区的居民不愿被用作莫斯科的垃圾箱。“这关乎尊严，”活动家Elena Kalinina说。

词汇

Dignity/尊严；高贵

The fiercest resistance has come from Ms Kalinina’s home region of Arkhangelsk. Protests have been bubbling there since late last year, drawing thousands. Activists have built a tent camp at the planned landfill site in Shiyes. “The Russian North is Not a Dump,” they chant. Local authorities have detained dozens of them. Activists now demand not only an end to landfill construction but also the resignation of the local governor. On June 25th Russia’s Supreme Court blocked activists’ attempt to force a referendum on the issue.

最激烈的抵抗来自Kalinina的家乡Arkhangelsk。自去年年底以来，那里的抗议活动不断升温，吸引了数千人。活动人士在计划中的西耶斯垃圾填埋场搭起了帐篷。“俄罗斯北部不是垃圾场，”他们高呼。当地政府已经拘留了数十人。活动人士现在不仅要求停止垃圾填埋场的建设，而且要求地方长官辞职。6月25日，俄罗斯最高法院阻止了活动人士就该问题举行公投的企图。

If there is a silver lining to the garbage, this is it. Just as ecology became an outlet for civic activism in the late Soviet era, so too have today’s rubbish problems. Moscow’s junk, in short, may be civil society’s treasure.

如果说垃圾还有一线希望的话，那就是它了。正如社会生态学在苏联时代晚期成为公民行动主义的出口一样，今天的垃圾问题也是如此。总之，莫斯科的垃圾可能是公民社会的财富。