Damage from pollution at the Novorossiysk landfill is estimated at 6.6 million.

Rosprirodnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage) has filed a lawsuit demanding over 6.6 million rubles from the owner of a landfill near Mount Shchelba in Novorossiysk for soil contamination.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in May, Rosprirodnadzor filed a lawsuit against the owner of a landfill near Mount Shchelba in Novorossiysk (Terra-N LLC), alleging non-compliance with environmental requirements in waste management. During a fire at the landfill, specialists discovered traces of leachate in the forest near the landfill, in the Bezymyanny Stream, and in the Ozereyka River.

Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage) filed a lawsuit against Terra-N LLC, demanding it recover over 6.6 million rubles "for damage to soil as a result of a leachate spill beyond the Shchelby solid waste landfill in Novorossiysk," the agency announced today on its website.

The company refused to voluntarily compensate for the damage.

The lawsuit stemmed from a violation discovered in the spring of 2025 by inspectors from the Southern Interregional Office of Rosprirodnadzor. "Soil samples collected by the Federal State Budgetary Institution 'TsLATI for the Southern Federal District' showed elevated concentrations of pollutants: copper by 3.46 times, zinc by 1.54 times, and mercury by 2.09 times. The damage exceeded 6.6 million rubles. Since the company refused to compensate voluntarily, the department filed a lawsuit in the Arbitration Court of Krasnodar Krai," the publication states.

17:26 03.04.2025

Plans to reconstruct the landfill in Novorossiysk have outraged social media users

The area of the fire at the Novorossiysk landfill has decreased, but a decision has been made to extend its operating life for two years and carry out reconstruction. Social media users suggested that the landfill should be closed and the funds used to build a waste processing plant.

As a reminder, in April, residents of Novorossiysk and the village of Borisovka complained of a strong burning smell and the inability to ventilate their homes. Fire suppression efforts are complicated by a prolonged subsurface fire at the landfill, which could lead to a landslide, and the spread of leachate is already poisoning water bodies and soil, environmentalists noted.

On September 6, another fire broke out at the Novorossiysk landfill. By September 14, authorities reported that the open fire had been extinguished, but local residents said it continued to smolder, and smoke and stench were covering entire neighborhoods.

Residents of Novorossiysk had previously repeatedly complained about the landfill in the village of Borisovka near Mount Shchelba. In June 2024, the landfill burned for several days, and in August, residents again complained of acrid smoke from a fire at the landfill. In November 2024, it became known that the landfill would be reconstructed, although it needs to be reclaimed.

By the end of 2025, two new waste disposal sites will be built at the landfill , the governor announced on August 1. Expanding the landfill in Novorossiysk will not solve the environmental problem but will only increase the risks, including fires, according to environmentalists and local residents. The landfill in the village of Borisovka was established in 2013 and is the only legally authorized waste disposal site for Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik. The facility's capacity is 160,000 tons of waste per year, but according to the territorial solid municipal waste management plan, Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik generate approximately 230,000 tons of waste annually. In reality, the landfill accepts a significantly larger volume of waste, and under these conditions, the landfill has "exhausted itself" prematurely, environmentalist Evgeny Vitishko stated in January.