Using Murmansk Region, one of Russia’s largest mining regions, as a case study, this paper examines the environmental safety challenges arising in the storage of mining and mineral processing waste (MMPW). It was found that MMPW causes environmental damage even after the deposit’s exhaustion. While being stored, the MMPW composition experiences a major change in the process properties of the recoverable minerals. As a consequence, the potential value of the MMPW as a mineral resource falls. Imperfections of the regulatory framework, leading to a higher unit cost of recovery and a reduced profitability of MMPW processing, are demonstrated. Potential amendments to the Russian laws are proposed in order to make MMPW processing commercially more viable.

Most municipal solid waste (MSW) in Russia is disposed of in landfills, and only a relatively small fraction is recycled. The landfilling of waste leads to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and air and groundwater pollution. However, recently, there have been some initiatives to improve waste management in the country. We assessed the economic and environmental benefits of waste recycling in the Murmansk region, in which a new waste recycling plant has been operating since 2019. We found that MSW recycling in the Murmansk region has induced a small, positive, job creation effect and could potentially lead to a non-negligible reduction in GHG emissions. Extrapolating the results from this case study to the country level, we found that recycling landfilled MSW in Russia could save approximately 154 million tons of GHG emissions in carbon dioxide equivalents annually, which is comparable to the total CO₂ emissions from Algeria. The positive environmental and health-related impacts from the extensive implementation of MSW recycling in the country could be substantial. From this case study, we also learned that one of the biggest challenges for the waste recycling company in the Murmansk region is finding profitable markets for recycled materials. Moreover, due to the high investment and operational costs, recycling MSW led to a substantial increase in communal fees. However, there is potential to make waste recycling more cost effective. Most MSW in the Murmansk region is still separated at the recycling plant, while separating waste at the source could substantially reduce operational costs. Other challenges in the large-scale implementation of MSW recycling in Russia, such as a lack of investments and the population’s willingness to recycle waste, are also discussed.

Environmental protection and safety are at the forefront of Russia's national policies in the Arctic. This region is becoming increasingly internationalized and turning into a major point of interest for world powers and transnational companies, which makes environmental policy an important aspect of geopolitical competition. Environmental policy design should be based on current scientific approaches. This study aims to identify and compare the most important topics and theoretical concepts that underlie environmental policy in Russia and abroad. The methodological approach used was semi-systematic (narrative) bibliographic analysis, which involved selecting and analyzing one hundred most-cited Russian and international studies on environmental policy issues. The study identified the key issues discussed and theoretical as well as methodological approaches used by domestic and foreign researchers in the study of environmental policy. The results of the analysis and comparison were evaluated in the context of their relevance to the challenges associated with Russia's state policy imperatives in the Arctic.

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