How to do the holidays with zero waste, with an online guide
Just four months after arriving in Israel, former Greenpeace Russia media director Violetta Ryabko has authored a pamphlet for Israelis to reduce plastic waste during the high holidays, which begin with the Jewish New Year on Sunday evening.
The online brochure, produced by Greenpeace Israel in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English, outlines the dangers that single-use plastics pose to people, wildlife and the environment, and outlines simple steps that can reduce waste, with links to companies that this can help.
Ryabko is passionate about reducing waste. Before leaving Russia, she published a book on the subject, which she would like to translate into Hebrew.
“I don’t just want to come here and enjoy all the benefits,” she told the Times of Israel. “I also want to do something good for this country and have strong expertise in the field of zero waste.”
According to the Environmental Protection Ministry, Israelis spend NIS 2 billion ($570 million) on plastic goods annually, with the amount consumed per person nearly five times that of EU citizens.
In November 2021, the ministry introduced a new tax on single-use plastic plates, bowls, cups and straws, raising prices by NIS 11 (just over US$3) per kilogram.
“When I came here, I was surprised that so many people use plastic tableware at home and produce more waste than people in Europe – mainly because of single-use plastic,” Ryabko said.
In big cities in Russia, people are more aware, she noted. There are many zero-waste shops where customers buy goods in reusable containers. “I’ve found two or three in Tel Aviv so far, and some cafes have stopped using plastic straws,” she said.
“Also, people in Israel don’t seem to really understand the system of recycling.”
In this undated photo, Violetta Ryabko poses with her book about Zero Waste in Haifa. (Courtesy of Violetta Ryabko)
She emphasized that “during [plastic] Recycling is important, it’s not the solution. We have to solve the problem where it starts – in the production phase. We have to produce and consume less.”
Ryabko and her husband Vasily Yablokov, both in their 30s, met while working for Greenpeace Russia in Saint Petersburg.
Both are now enrolled in a six-month Masa program that ends in November. At that point they become Israeli citizens.
The program includes internships, and Ryabko is currently doing an internship at Greenpeace Israel. Last week she was near the Energy Ministry in Jerusalem, demonstrating against the government’s policy on natural gas – a fossil fuel.
“It’s interesting for me to see freedom of speech and how people can express themselves,” she said, but chose not to discuss Russia or its invasion of Ukraine further.
Husband Vasily Yablokov, whose background is in Earth Sciences and whose expertise lies in reducing carbon emissions, is currently doing an internship at Ray of Impact, which helps companies and investors manage their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) operations.
Vasily Yablokov pictured at the PLANETech World 2022 climate technology conference held at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv on September 21, 2022. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)
He networks intensively with green organizations in Israel. On Thursday he was at the country’s first climate technology conference in Tel Aviv, PLANETech World 2022.
He and Ryabko are currently working on an application to help new immigrants find ways to ease their Zero Waste transition in Israel.
They encourage other Masa participants with technical skills to get involved.
“This is a turbulent time,” said Yablokov. “I realize that I can’t just keep going the way I was doing before. I will have to rethink a lot. The whole system is different here. And the world is changing very quickly. You need a lot of internal resources to adapt and maybe by doing good you can achieve some calm.”
