Another fire broke out at a landfill in Novorossiysk.

The fire at the landfill near Novorossiysk has been extinguished, but the smoldering area extends to 220 square meters, and soil is still being filled in. Fires at the landfill are recurring due to violations of operating procedures, the ecologist noted.

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

The smoldering area at the Novorossiysk landfill is 220 square meters, according to Deputy Head of the Municipality Alexander Gavrikov. Specialists continue to water the localized area and fill it with soil. Thirteen pieces of equipment are involved. They have already made 40 trips, covering 400 cubic meters of soil.

According to him, the fire at the landfill began on December 1 and was extinguished, but the smoldering area has decreased slightly over the past few days, from 250 to 220 square meters.

This process has long been chronic. It cannot be stopped as long as the object itself continues to be used. The root of the problem is improper waste transfer technology.

The landfill is constantly emitting methane, and smoldering continues in hard-to-reach places, leading to new fires, said ecologist Evgeny Vitishko.

"The process here has long been chronic. It cannot be stopped as long as the facility itself continues to be used. The root of the problem is improper waste transfer technology. Initially, the waste was stacked incorrectly—not in layers and not with subsequent insulation, but in a cone, essentially a "pyramid." This formation of the landfill violates requirements and inevitably leads to spontaneous combustion. Moreover, the problem here is not only technical. The landfill was initially located in violation of sanitary and protective standards: nearby are residential buildings, a gardening non-profit partnership, and people who lived here even before the landfill was actively used. A logical question arises: how "How can we reclaim an object? How can we close it when it has effectively become 'grown into' the agglomeration?" - the publication "Yasno" quoted him as saying on December 3.

In his opinion, the only strategic solution is to create new landfills, built using the correct technology and located away from residential areas. "However, since 2019, when the 'garbage reform' began, not a single such facility has appeared in the region," Vitishko stated.

Fires regularly occur at the landfill near Mount Shchelba in Novorossiysk, causing residents to complain of acrid smoke. Residents have repeatedly called for the landfill to be closed, but a tender for its reconstruction was announced in the spring, and the landfill's operating life was extended by two years.

Social media users were outraged by plans to reconstruct the landfill. Another fire in the spring 2025 lasted more than a month, from March 13 to April 17, after which Rosprirodnadzor initiated an administrative case against the landfill owner.

By the end of 2025, two new waste disposal sites will be built at the municipal solid waste landfill in Novorossiysk as the landfill's current capacity has been exhausted, 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, environmentalists and local residents noted.

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