Источник фото: threads.com/@_mikola_blr_
A row of gleaming steel columns set on a perfectly manicured lawn, minimalist pictograms and clean paving stones all around. This is how the waste collection site in the Art Quarter of Novaya Baravaya was supposed to look. But the urban utopia collided with Belarusian reality: residents have started leaving rubbish bags beneath the shiny stainless-steel columns marked “plastic”, “glass” and “mixed waste” because the bags do not fit into the underground storage units.
A resident of the neighbourhood posted the photo on Threads today, questioning whether the designers at A-100 had taken the system’s drawbacks into account. “Another marketing gimmick that simply doesn’t work in our conditions,” wrote _mikola_blr_.
The underground waste storage system was one of the distinctive features of the Art Quarter. The containers are kept in a shaft on a lifting platform. When the rubbish truck arrives, the platform is raised and the bins are rolled out. When the containers are full, the shaft doors are locked. But something went wrong, and residents began leaving rubbish beside the shiny steel columns.
Dozens of comments under the post debate who is to blame: the developer, the company responsible for waste collection, or residents themselves, who park their cars in prohibited areas and obstruct access for rubbish trucks.
The management company, A-100 Development, has already responded. It is in the process of changing the contractor responsible for waste collection and removal. The new company is due to take over in December.
Novaya Baravaya is located in the village of Kopishcha, but housing prices there are more than comparable to those in the capital. Apartments in the Art Quarter buildings, where the futuristic waste collection site is located, are listed at $2,580–$3,650 per square metre, based on the National Bank’s exchange rate. The average asking price in Minsk is $2,581 per square metre. The entire concept of Novaya Baravaya is based on buyers being willing to pay a substantial premium for the surroundings, attractive courtyards and cosy entrances, despite the distance from the city centre.