Changes in legislation on health-care waste

Introduction. Increasingly, the issues of health-care waste management are emerging as a pressing environmental problem due to numerous unresolved issues of their safe handling, control and ultimate fate. At the present stage, their handling is regulated fragmentarily and mainly at the subordinate level, which does not allow a legitimate practicing of work. Federal Law No. 306-FZ of 08.08.2024 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”, published in August 2024, is designed to solve a number of existed problems. The aim of the article was to analyze the accumulated problems of safe handling of health-care waste and the extent to which they were resolved when introducing new changes. Materials and methods. The list of issues formulated in the Annual Public Resolution on Environmental Protection and Ecological Development of the Russian Federation at the XV International Forum “Ecology” was taken as a basis. To identify practical problems and their root causes, a content analysis of judicial practice (more than forty arbitration disputes concerning health-care waste) and existing publications was carried out, the provisions of the current legislation were analyzed. Results. Under the current “legal vacuum” environmentally sound waste management tactics are concluded to be impossible, and resolutions to disputes that arise are unpredictable. The provisions of the new law regarding the practical work of medical institutions and in relation to the environmental issues formulated in the Resolution are analyzed. It is concluded that, thanks to the amendments coming into force in 2025 and 2026, all the issues raised are resolved, but some issues require further elaboration. Limitations. The study is limited by the scope of the problems formulated by the XV International Forum “Ecology”. Conclusion. Filling in significant gaps in the legislation that could not be resolved using existing requirements so far should lead to the exclusion of health-care waste from entering unauthorized landfills; adequate effective disinfection and disposal, volume control and improvement of the environmental situation as a whole.