On 1 July 2025, the Sustainability Committee of the Association of European Businesses held an open meeting titled "Russian Waste Market - Moving Towards a Circular Economy".  

We invited key business actors involved in moving, processing, reusing, and recycling waste to provide a comprehensive overview of the Russian waste market. Companies from FMCG, pharmaceuticals, and "hard" industries shared their perspectives on this market.  

The discussion proved to be extremely productive.  

Key takeaways: 

• Waste infrastructure is developing despite multiple hurdles, covering both industrial and municipal (household) waste.  
• Waste separation is highly effective, contrary to popular belief. Many recycling facilities lack sufficient volumes of high-quality recyclable materials. 
• Incentives matter. Russia offers general regulatory and tax incentives, some of which may support investments in waste infrastructure. Businesses would welcome additional incentives for waste-efficient practices, requiring further discussion alongside sustainable finance tools.  
• Business engagement is strong. Companies across diverse industries are highly motivated to ensure their waste is processed, reused, or recycled, driven by regulatory pressures (e.g., extended producer responsibility) and corporate ESG policies.  
• Waste intersects with climate action. The waste sector offers significant opportunities for implementing climate projects (e.g., generating carbon credits).  
• New tools are emerging. Companies with zero-waste targets exploring contributions to waste infrastructure development may consider instruments like "plastic credits." These could develop at a B2B level given sufficient interest.  
• Consolidation of efforts across businesses is critical. 

There are already great cross-industry synergies in waste, such those between (A) Gazpromneft, Vkusno & Tochka and Ecoway regarding use of frying oil as ships fuel and (B) Ecocenter Sborka, Vkusvill and Synergetic.

These models should be replicated and scaled across industries and regions.