At the forum on industrial waste management in Astana, scientists of the Kazakhstan Road Research Institute noted the need to create a GIS-map of industrial waste in Kazakhstan and the possibility of integrating it into the already working Unified Base of road construction materials and new technologies. This will allow not only to actualize information on the location and composition of waste, but also to effectively use it in construction.

According to experts, Kazakhstan has accumulated billions of tons of industrial waste, much of which was formed in the Soviet period. However, at the moment there is no accurate information on the volume, chemical and mineral composition of waste. Different figures are named - from 40 to 80 billion tons. “For rational use of technogenic raw materials we need a clear and complete picture - where, what and in what volume there is.

Without this information it is difficult to talk about large-scale processing and attracting investors. GIS-map of waste integrated into the Unified Base could become the main tool for estimation of volumes and planning of processing”, - noted Kairat Mukhambetkaliev, Head of Science Department of KazdorNII.

The forum, organized by Qarmet JSC, emphasized the need for a full-scale audit of all industrial waste to create a basis for further processing. The GIS map will not only allow to see the geography and chemical composition of waste, but also provide investors with a transparent picture for risk assessment.

"Transparency is important for business. Today, many foreign and domestic companies are interested in waste recycling, but without accurate information they cannot adequately assess their risks. Integration of data on industrial waste into the Unified Base will create conditions for attracting new technologies and capital,” Mukhambetkaliyev added.

The Unified Base of road-building materials and new technologies already includes a GIS map of stone quarries. Now the scientists propose to supplement it with a similar section on industrial waste.

“We see significant potential in using waste to produce quality road-building materials. This is a step not only towards improving infrastructure, but also towards solving environmental challenges,” emphasized the representative of KazdorNII.