(AP) Russia breaks ‘Zero Waste’ Olympic pledge
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA
Associated Press
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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