The Salihorsk newspaper Shakhtyor has posted footage on Instagram from the garbage collection room of an apartment building at 43 Lenina Street. A flashlight beam reveals a green bin beneath the garbage chute: dozens of rats are huddled together on top of bags of waste. The rodents climb the sides of the bin, perch on its edges and do not even scatter when exposed to the light.
Some commenters questioned whether the video was AI-generated. In response to their skepticism, a woman who lives in the building invited anyone interested to go into the garbage collection room and see for themselves:
“The doors to the garbage chute are open on the street side. Come in and see for yourselves… The garbage was being collected while I was there, and the worker said: ‘I’m not going in there. There are about 15 rats in there.’” The Salihorsk resident added that she feels very sorry for the municipal workers.
The administrator of the social media page also replied regretfully that the video was real.
Residents of the building had complained to municipal services about untimely garbage collection. However, the company responsible, EkoKompleks, explained that waste is collected according to schedule, workers also remove rubbish left outside the bins, and supervisors monitor the quality of cleaning. But as long as the garbage chute remains in operation, rodents will always have something to feed on.