The purpose of this project is to clearly distinguish municipal waste from other categories of waste in order to ensure more effective management and organization of local government operations.
According to data from the National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, the volume of municipal waste has been increasing over the past five years:
| Volume of Waste Generation | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Household waste collected, thousand tons | 1,175.9 | 1,229.6 | 1,339.6 | 1,505.4 | 1,646.5 | 1,761.0 |
| Per capita, kg | 185.9 | 191.0 | 212.6 | 234.3 | 251.5 | 255.0 |
| As a percentage of total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| including: | ||||||
| Household waste | 49.4 | 45.2 | 47.7 | 47.5 | 46.9 | 50.0 |
| Waste from enterprises, institutions, and organizations | 18.1 | 14.5 | 21.2 | 20.3 | 17.0 | 18.2 |
| Street waste (including waste from unauthorized dumps and park waste) | 16.4 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 15.5 | 13.8 | 15.1 |
| Market waste | 13.2 | 17.5 | 10.2 | 5.7 | 8.8 | 10.0 |
| Other waste | 2.9 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 10.9 | 13.4 | 15.2 |
Every year, the number of illegal landfills for solid household waste increases. By 2022, the country had accumulated 2,777,679.3 thousand tons of production and consumption waste, with 194,640.3 thousand tons of waste generated annually, including 1,339.6 thousand tons of solid household waste. Of this volume, only 123.1 thousand tons were recycled, and 1.0 thousand tons were treated. In the republic, about 200 enterprises are engaged in the collection and processing of waste, including secondary raw materials.
Currently, the national policy is focused on waste recycling, emphasizing the extraction of useful components for the creation of secondary products and energy. In this regard, a list of types of waste containing useful components that are prohibited from being landfilled has been established.
Separating useful waste from garbage (for example, leaves, construction waste, ash) at the initial stage will allow for more effective recycling of useful waste, avoiding their mixing and contamination.
The lack of a clear list of municipal waste complicates the classification of certain types of waste as municipal, creating legal ambiguity for local government bodies and organizations working in the waste management sector, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
List of Municipal Waste
No | Name of Waste | Description |
| 1. | Expired, rejected, contaminated food products, canned goods | Sour milk, juice-containing drinks, meat, fish products, semi-finished products, etc. |
| 2. | Food waste, including from public catering | Food leftovers, bones, spoiled vegetables and fruits, their peels, etc. |
| 3. | Broken kitchen utensils | Shards of dishes and kitchenware, such as ceramic and porcelain dishes. |
| 4. | Wet food packaging unsuitable for recycling | Contaminated packaging, including Tetra Paks, plastic and glass bottles. |
| 5. | Used hygiene and cosmetic products | Wipes, diapers, cotton products, used tubes, and other similar waste. |
| 6. | Household and institutional waste | Waste that does not contain valuable components. |
| 7. | Broken wooden products | Furniture, frames, shavings, and waste from carpentry. |
| 8. | Residues from heating installations | Ash, stubs, slag, and other mechanical impurities. |
| 9. | Contaminated textile waste | Oily rags, cloths, and other textile products. |
| 10. | Construction and installation waste | Brick fragments, roofing materials, and other construction waste. |
| 11. | Contaminated packaging from paints and varnishes | Cans and containers from paints, varnishes, and other chemical materials. |
| 12. | Compost waste | Food scraps, tops, leaves, and similar organic waste. |
| 13. | Garden waste from cleaning territories | Mowed grass, tree branches, dried flowers, and leaves. |
| 14. | Waste from public catering and hotels | Contaminated packaging, food leftovers, and office waste. |
| 15. | Street and yard sweepings | A mixture of leaves, branches, soil, and other impurities. |
| 16. | Waste from cleaning industrial enterprises | Sweepings generated during territory cleaning. |
| 17. | Broken electrical and electronic devices | Pieces of rubber, broken parts of electrical appliances, etc. |
| 18. | Accessories that have lost consumer properties | Earrings, rings, broken glasses, and other similar items. |
| 19. | Old plumbing | Toilets, sinks, and bathtubs. |
*Note
This list defines the types of municipal waste that do not contain useful components and are generated in the process of human activity in residential and production premises, in construction, on common lands.
The hazard class of waste is established according to the Hazardous Waste Classifier and the methodological recommendations for determining the hazard class of waste, approved by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 9 dated January 15, 2010.
The list of types of waste that contain useful components, the burial of which is prohibited, is defined by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 771 dated December 2, 2025.
