Waste management and circular economy development agency

During the current year, more than 20 draft laws and subordinate regulatory legal acts were developed in the sector, which are now being introduced in stages. Among the most important are the draft Presidential Decree “On Measures to Improve Economic Mechanisms for Environmental Protection” and the new edition of the draft Law “On Waste”, which are currently under consideration.

Modern information and communication technologies have been introduced in the sector, and the unified electronic billing system “Toza Makon” has been launched for continuous operation. As a result of integrating this system with the database of the Unified Portal, the formation of unreal (fictitious) accounts receivable has been prevented.

As of December 31, 2025, out of payments accrued to the population for services rendered in the amount of 1 trillion 454 billion soums, 1 trillion 304 billion soums, or 90 percent, were paid.

Currently, the accounts receivable of the population for services rendered amount to 622.7 billion soums. At the same time, unreal receivables in the amount of 211.9 billion soums, accrued for services not actually provided, were excluded from the electronic system.

Out of 37.5 million people living in 9,452 mahallas, services were provided in 8,105 mahallas, which accounts for 87 percent, and in terms of population — 23.9 million people, or 64 percent.

Of the 7.3 million subscribers registered in the billing system, 91.6 percent were entered using the Personal Identification Number of Individuals (PINFL), and 98.1 percent using cadastral numbers.

If задолженность is not repaid after sending an SMS notification, the practice of temporarily restricting the acceptance of electricity payments has been introduced.

According to analyses conducted, 15.1 million tons of household waste were generated in 2025.

Within the framework of managing toxic-chemical, electronic, medical, and hazardous waste, the burial of more than 40 thousand tons of arsenic-containing substances was identified at the toxic-chemical landfill located in the “Yakatut” mahalla of Bostanlyk district. In this regard, initial technical and environmental analyses were carried out.

At the former uranium mines “Chorkesar” in Namangan region and “Yangiobod” in Tashkent region, reclamation works were carried out using a grant of 9 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and these territories were brought to a safe condition.

To create eco-industrial zones on landfill sites, land plots have been allocated in accordance with decisions of regional khokimiyats in six regions (Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Kashkadarya, Samarkand, and Tashkent), and eco-industrial zones have been established under the leadership of the Agency. In addition, the construction of a total of 14 transfer stations in 11 regions, along with the necessary infrastructure, is planned.

To organize the production of energy resources through thermal waste processing and to develop the circular economy, projects funded by foreign investments are being implemented in Andijan, Kashkadarya, Namangan, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Fergana regions on the basis of Presidential Decrees No. 116, 117, and 118.

Active construction of plants is currently underway, and as of today, USD 152.2 million has been utilized.

Together with the American company “Sayar”, a project worth USD 115 million is being implemented to produce 320 GWh of thermal energy per year by incinerating 96 thousand tons of medical waste annually.
At the first stage of the project, waste incineration systems with a capacity of 6 thousand tons per year and production of 20 GWh of thermal energy per year were introduced at the Republican Center of Emergency Medical Care and the Tashkent Medical Institute. Construction works are underway at emergency medical hospitals in Bukhara and Samarkand regions.
At the second stage (2026–2030), 300 GWh of thermal energy per year will be produced in other regions by incinerating 90 thousand tons of waste annually.

Within the project implemented by the South Korean company “Sejin UZ”, 253 wells were drilled and pipelines laid at the “Ohangaron” landfill.

The Agency has signed cooperation agreements with companies from Saudi Arabia and France on the management of hazardous industrial waste. The total cost of the project is USD 80 million. Land plots have been proposed in Jizzakh and Navoi regions, and organizational measures are being taken.

In addition, an agreement was signed with a Japanese company to implement a pilot experimental project worth USD 8 million in Tashkent region, which предусматривает production of 76 thousand cubic meters of biogas per year from 1 thousand tons of food waste using advanced technologies. Implementation of the project will reduce negative environmental impact by using biogas as an alternative energy source and create an energy-efficient waste management model.

To combat plastic waste, a project has been launched to install reverse vending machines (fandomats) in the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand for collecting 1.8 million tons of plastic waste. As part of a pilot initiative, the first fandormat has been installed in Tashkent in cooperation with the Norwegian company “Tomra.”

Agreements have also been reached on the construction of four additional waste-to-energy plants in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Bukhara, Navoi, Jizzakh, Syrdarya, and Surkhandarya regions. The total cost of the projects is USD 420 million. By incinerating 1.4 million tons of waste annually, 475 million kWh of electricity will be generated.

According to the “Toza Makon” billing system, geo-zones have been formed for 9,430 mahalla citizens’ assemblies, 72,658 streets, and 197 solid household waste landfills. The territories of mahalla assemblies connected to the system were divided into 26,447 microdistricts.

In the regions, video surveillance cameras were installed at 830 waste collection sites and on 714 units of specialized waste collection vehicles. The geographic coordinates of 3,606 waste collection sites were determined and entered into the system. This year, GPS trackers were installed on 79 waste collection vehicles supplied to sanitation enterprises on a leasing basis. As a result, 3,230 out of 3,419 units of specialized equipment (95 percent) are equipped with GPS devices.

To provide additional convenience for the population, the mobile application of the unified electronic billing system “Toza Makon” was launched and made available on the App Store and Play Market platforms.

As an experiment, in nine districts of Jizzakh region, online monitoring of 42 waste collection vehicles was introduced through the “Intelligent Waste Management” program.

In accordance with Presidential Decree No. 5, 100 bicycles were provided to employees of sanitation enterprises, and contract-based tuition fees totaling 1 billion soums were paid for 100 children of sanitation and landscaping workers studying at higher educational institutions.

Drafts of new tariffs for eight sanitation enterprises were reviewed and sent back for revision with relevant explanations.

To monitor the activities of sanitation enterprises and assess key performance indicators, 64 public-private partnership agreements were signed, covering 114 districts and cities.

Under these agreements, as of December 1 of the current year, private partners invested a total of 386.5 billion soums, through which 384 units of special equipment, more than 5,700 containers, four waste sorting facilities, and 16 waste processing units were purchased, and construction of 33 waste collection sites was ensured.

During the year, work was completed at 107 waste collection sites, including 34 construction projects, 16 reconstructions, and 57 repairs.

The performance of 113 sanitation enterprises was evaluated. Initially, the national average efficiency indicator was 55.5 percent: 30 enterprises were classified as “green,” 57 as “yellow,” and 28 as “red.” Additionally, 14 enterprises (Andijan – 5, Kashkadarya – 5, Namangan – 1, Surkhandarya – 1, Fergana – 2) were classified as “red” for six consecutive months.

In Tashkent, as well as Andijan, Tashkent, and Bukhara regions, eight sanitation enterprises experimentally created full conditions for separate collection and procurement of waste (recyclable, non-recyclable, and food waste) in multi-storey residential areas. For this purpose, special waste collection sites were equipped with appropriate containers.

Additionally, 36,000 waste collection bags were purchased and distributed to citizens to organize separate waste collection.

Modern waste collection sites equipped with containers, bins, and video surveillance cameras were also established at tourist facilities in Khorezm, Samarkand, and Bukhara regions. Using its own funds, the Agency supplied 220 waste containers worth 604.7 million soums to sanitation enterprises in Jizzakh region.

As a result of leasing 79 units of special equipment worth 75.4 billion soums to Bukhara, Syrdarya, Khorezm, Jizzakh, Samarkand, Navoi, Namangan, Fergana, Tashkent regions, and the Republic of Karakalpakstan, an additional 643 thousand people were covered by services and service quality was improved.

During the year, a total of 21,300 appeals were received, of which 20,549 (96.4 percent) were submitted through the Call Center and the Virtual Reception of the President, and 751 (3.5 percent) directly to the Agency and its territorial divisions. Positive solutions were provided for 16,789 appeals (79 percent), explanations were given for 2,976 (14 percent), 81 (0.4 percent) were rejected, and 1,376 (6.5 percent) are currently under review.

Every year, the Agency organizes nationwide eco-actions in honor of March 30 – “Zero Waste Day” and September 20 – “World Cleanup Day,” including mass plogging events. In addition, eco-subbotniks and campaigns such as “Let’s Turn the Mahalla into a Waste-Free Zone,” “Cleanliness Days,” and the “Cleanliness and Freedom” month are held. Within these activities, 95,213 mahalla territories and 60,631 public places were cleaned.

A total of 66,291 units of special equipment and 70,301 employees from more than 100 partner organizations participated in these activities.

Across the republic, there are 228 landfills with a total area of 1,824 hectares, including 199 household waste landfills, 15 hazardous (chemical), and 14 construction waste landfills. Of these, 210 landfills are on the balance sheet of the Directorate under the Agency, and 18 are in the private sector.

In 2025, using budget funds, 18 landfills (81.6 percent) were fully reclaimed, and reclamation works were carried out at five additional landfills (17.6 percent) using extra-budgetary funds, after which they were covered with soil and decommissioned. GPS devices were installed on 218 of the 333 vehicles operated by the Directorate.

Internal documents aimed at combating corruption were adopted and implemented in the Agency’s central office, territorial departments, and subordinate organizations. In September of the current year, 52 employees completed specialized training courses on the electronic platform “Virtual Academy for Combating Corruption,” and more than 40 round tables and seminars were held for staff on the content and essence of legislative acts.