AP IMPACT: Trash dump in water protection zone breaks Russia’s ‘Zero Waste’ Olympics pledge

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Excavators move earth at a quarry near Akhshtyr village in Sochi, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. As a centerpiece of its Olympic bid, Russia trumpeted a “Zero Waste” program that promised the cleanest games ever, saying it would refrain from dumping construction waste and rely on reusable materials. But on a visit last week to Akhshtyr, just north of Sochi, The Associated Press found that Russia’s state-owned rail monopoly is dumping tons of construction waste into an illegal landfill, raising concerns of possible contamination in the water that directly supplies Sochi. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

AKHSHTYR, Russia – The Associated Press has found that Russia is dumping tons of construction waste into an illegal landfill in violation of its “Zero Waste” pledge for the Sochi Winter Olympics, raising concerns of possible contamination in the water that supplies the resort.

Trucks rumbled last week to the edge of a pit filled with spray cans, tires and foam sheets and dumped a stream of concrete slabs. The landfill operated by state-owned Russian Railways outside Sochi sits in a water protection zone where dumping industrial waste is banned.

In a letter obtained by the AP, the local Environmental Protection Agency said that it had inspected the landfill in Akhshtyr and found “unauthorized dumping of construction waste.”

In its Olympic bid, Russia promised the cleanest Games ever through its “Zero Waste” program.

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