Kokov announced a change in waste management company amid complaints from residents.

The authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria have refused to renew the regional waste management authority for the company "Ekologistika," whose work has been the subject of numerous complaints from residents. Moreover, at least one tender to select a new contractor failed due to a lack of bids.

"Caucasian Knot" reported that in September 2025, the prosecutor's office filed a complaint against the official waste management operator in Kabardino-Balkaria, the company "Ekologistika," regarding illegal dumps in the village of Islamey. The problem is also common in other settlements in the republic, social media users stated. The landfills in Islamey were cleaned up after the prosecutor's office's response, but the problem with waste removal persisted, residents later told the "Caucasian Knot."

The solid waste removal operator, Ecologistika LLC, is ceasing operations in Kabardino-Balkaria, announced the head of the republic, Kazbek Kokov, at a meeting with government members. He explained that the company is failing to fulfill its responsibilities.

The operator's term expires on April 28, but it will continue operations until a competition to select a new organization takes place. The competition, announced for March 6, was declared void due to a lack of applications, but Kokov assured that the problem will be resolved within one month.

Meanwhile, residents of Kabardino-Balkaria continue to complain about garbage that has not been removed from their communities for weeks. Anastasia Yemelyanova, a blogger from Prokhladny, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in the village of Priblizhny, where she lives, trash hasn't been collected "for two weeks already."

"We sort trash ourselves at home. We recycle everything that can be recycled—glass, metal—we recycle what can be burned, and we take out the rest. Unfortunately, a lot of trash has accumulated both in and around the bins, and people are unhappy and complaining," Yemelyanova said. The same situation, she says, is in the city of Prokhladny, where practically every courtyard is littered with trash. Yemelyanova herself hasn't addressed the garbage collection issue, but other Prokhladny residents regularly write about the problem on social media. Prokhladny resident Galina Avdoshina claims that Prokhladny was always tidy before Ecologistika arrived. "A clean and cozy city has turned into a complete dump, with mountains of trash everywhere. Yet, people are billed regularly. And if you don't pay, they'll immediately sue you and deduct the debt from your account, even though the service isn't being provided properly or isn't being provided at all," she complained.

Tatyana from the village of Malka claims that the entire village is littered with garbage. “Piles of garbage can be seen along the main street, but it hasn't been collected for almost a month. To avoid making the situation worse, many residents who have transportation take their garbage somewhere themselves. We do the same; we take our garbage outside our village. I can't say where exactly, but my son does that,” she said.

Nalchik residentNina Khamukova, who attended a funeral on Kulieva Street on April 17, saw overflowing garbage bins in the yard. “The stench was permeating the entire yard. It was very unpleasant,” she said. According to Khamukova, trash is collected periodically, but less frequently than it accumulates. Lyudmila, a resident of an apartment building on Shogentsukov Avenue in Nalchik, reported that trash from five bins is collected either daily or every other day. Meanwhile, a pile of bulky trash has formed next to the bins, which no one touches.

“We don’t know who’s supposed to remove this trash. Containers from nearby stores, tree branches, and other items have been lying around for a month, blocking access for cars. Ecologistika says it’s not their responsibility, and that the HOA should handle it. But this trash isn’t from our building, but from the entire neighborhood, including stores. And the HOA, even if they wanted to, doesn’t have the funds to cover such expenses,” she said.

Shalushka resident Ruslan Karamurzov reported that all the garbage, which had been accumulating there for almost a month, was removed from the village on April 16th. "They just took out all the garbage; we already had mountains of garbage everywhere," he said. He noted that some bulky waste still remains, although most of the waste has been removed.

In December 2025, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Kabardino-Balkaria opened a criminal case against the management of Ecologistika LLC for failure to pay wages to employees. According to investigators, "starting in October 2025, the company's management, having funds at its disposal to pay off debts, used them for other purposes" unrelated to paying employees. As a result, wages were not paid for more than two months, and the outstanding amount was 32 million rubles.

Residents of Kabardino-Balkaria previously noted that Ecologistika, citing a labor shortage, was publishing conflicting salary information. The company's official social media page advertised vacancies for garbage truck drivers with salaries "starting from 70,000 rubles" and driver assistants with salaries "starting from 60,000 rubles." Meanwhile, on the state-run portal "Work in Russia," the operator posted vacancies for garbage truck drivers, stating a minimum salary of up to 22,400 rubles.