Authorities have acknowledged the unresolved problem of garbage dumping on the outskirts of Sunzha.

A Sunzha resident criticized his fellow residents in a video message for allowing an illegal garbage dump to occur near a road on the outskirts of the city. The owner of the site had already been fined for polluting the area, but the problem remains unresolved, according to the Ingush Ministry of Natural Resources.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in January 2024, Sunzha residents complained that they had been suffering from acrid smoke from a burning landfill for a week, while officials were taking no action to extinguish the fire.

The Ingush Ministry of Natural Resources responded to the Sunzha resident's complaint on January 13 on its Telegram channel. "While monitoring social media for information about environmental violations, a video message was discovered from a Sunzha resident complaining about the abundance of construction and household waste on the edge of Engels Street in the city," the publication states.

Inspectors had previously recorded this violation during on-site inspections, and information about the violations was passed on to the republic's prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Natural Resources noted.

Local residents continue to dump trash there.

"At the request of the ministry, the Sunzhensky District Prosecutor's Office conducted an inspection. It was discovered that the land plot belonged to a private individual. A case of administrative liability was opened against the owner under Part 1 of Article 8.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. 1 The Ingush Ministry of Natural Resources fined the owner of the site. However, the problem remains: local residents continue to dump trash there. The contaminated area covers approximately 100 square meters," the publication states.

This site was previously included in the list of 98 landfills scheduled for elimination as part of the Eco-Quarter project. "According to the plan, local governments were required to remove at least 50% of the landfills. Although the overall Eco-Quarter goal was achieved, this landfill was not included among those eliminated—priority was given to sites located closer to residential areas," the ministry reported.

The ministry's publication is illustrated with a still from a video showing a pile of trash on the side of the road. A video containing this footage was published on January 13th on the Fortanga Telegram channel.

The caption explains that the video was filmed by a Sunzha resident who expressed dissatisfaction with the illegal garbage dumping near new buildings on the outskirts of Engels Street.

Fruit trees and grapes used to grow here.

"Fruit trees and grapes used to grow here. Those who created this mess are simply inhuman. You have no conscience, no religion, no basic sense of honor," a translation of part of his words is provided in the post.

In the video itself, the man does not speak Russian, but the words "Engels Street," "new buildings," "two thousandth," "Sunzha," and "law" can be heard in his speech. The video's author drives down a suburban street, capturing piles of household and construction waste strewn along both sides of the road for a considerable distance.

Remember, residents of other settlements in Ingushetia have also repeatedly complained about the problem of illegal dumps and the government's lack of response to landfill fires. Specifically, on August 17, 2022, residents of Malgobek reported that they had been contacting officials for a month about a landfill fire, but their requests to extinguish the blazes remained unanswered.

As part of the national "Ecology" project, landfills in Nazran, Sunzha, Malgobek, and Karabulak were supposed to be eliminated by the end of 2020. Construction of three solid waste landfills in Karabulak, Malgobek, and Sunzhensky districts began in October 2015 after more than 120 illegal waste collection points were identified in Ingushetia. In 2019, the Malgobek landfill was added to the register of accumulated environmental damage sites.

In November 2024, the Russian Environmental Operator reported that a severe shortage of garbage trucks was observed in 16 regions, with shortages ranging from 16% to 78% of the required number of vehicles. The shortage of garbage trucks in Ingushetia amounted to 60.4%.