The volume of waste reached 8.5 billion tons by the end of 2021 alone, Svetlana Radionova, head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Environmental Management, said during a conference on environmental safety, which Rosprirodnadzor held from July 18 to 19 in Moscow.

The Chief Environmental Controller stressed that the modernization of the industry is necessary, and young talented guys, such as participants of the International Children's and Youth Award "Ecology is everyone's business", can help in this.

According to Radionova, in Russia in 2021, about 43 billion tons of overburden were accumulated, about 6 billion tons of waste from the extraction of metal ores, almost 8 million tons were animal husbandry waste, the rest were drilling sludge and ash slags.

"Eight thousand pyramids of Cheops can be built from waste accumulated in Russia, which currently amount to 53 billion tons. Look, we have almost 8 wonders of the world in quotes, of course. The volume of waste is not reduced. In 2021 alone, 8.5 billion tons of waste were generated," Svetlana Radionova said during a conference on environmental safety.

"The problem is that we have many enterprises where the equipment has been working since Soviet times, has not been updated. If we talk about new technologies, then each one should undergo the necessary testing, since it is important to assess their impact on human health and the environment," Svetlana Radionova stressed.

She also noted that many interesting projects are sent by participants of the International Children's and Youth Award "Ecology is everyone's business", established in 2021 on the initiative of Rosprirodnadzor. So, this year, 14-year-old Boris Glushak from St. Petersburg presented several serious inventions, and one of them – the Cascade-1 photobioreactor – was presented during the conference.

Cascade-1 is a device that can be used to process carbon dioxide into oxygen using chlorella microalgae. The student analyzed the existing problem of excessive carbon dioxide content and studied what photobioreactors are – devices that allow photosynthesis to process carbon dioxide into oxygen, reduce the amount of dust and humidify the air in the premises. Boris Glushak suggested that by changing the shape and design of the installation, it is possible to easily increase the area of carbon dioxide absorption and increase the efficiency of the device.

"In Cascade-1, chlorella is used, which means that it is enough to replace microalgae 1-2 times a week, the resulting sediment can be used as fish food. Cascade-1 can be used in closed rooms with a large crowd of people: from hospitals to conference halls," Boris Glushak said during the presentation of his installation to the conference participants, among whom were environmentalists, representatives of large enterprises of the Russian Federation and the scientific community.

Boris's love of designing was instilled by his grandfather, a physicist who worked with academician Andrei Sakharov on the calculations of hydrogen bomb explosions. The student creates his own inventions, however, experiments in laboratories under the guidance of scientific mentors are necessary for their implementation. Boris Glushak has repeatedly won all-Russian innovation competitions.

"The electric age of electronic passions

endurance runs of all colors.

Time is rushing forward, the openings are growing in an instant –

The world of science is calling, look around – we are here!

Children of new peaks of undiscovered planets

We have a lot of ideas for the next hundred years," Boris Glushak read a poem of his own composition at the conference.

The International Children's and Youth Award "Ecology is everyone's business" was established by Rosprirodnadzor for eco-education of children and adolescents. In less than four months of receiving applications, more than 15 thousand works were received from all regions of Russia and from 17 foreign countries. Children and teenagers aged 6 to 17 years old participate in the Award in nine nominations. Works are accepted until October 1, 2022 on the award website www.экологияделокаждого .RF.

The general partner of the award is the ANO Center for Arctic Initiatives. Federal partners: JSC "RNG", JSC "Uralchem", VDC "Orlyonok", FGBOU TO FCDO, Moscow Zoo, film studio "Soyuzmultfilm", "Russian movement of schoolchildren", Grand hotel "Pearl".

The general information partner was MIA "Russia Today", the general radio partner was Business FM. Information partners are Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda Publishing House, FederalPress Media Holding, MIR TV channel, Children's Radio, Regnum FIA, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, TASS–Newm information and educational project, Ekograd magazine.