Nizhny Novgorod authorities intend to stop clearing leaves in parks.

      26 September 2025 10:28 Society

      Authorities of Nizhny Novgorod intend to revise their approach to maintaining the city's green spaces.

      The Department of Improvement has drafted the corresponding amendments to the city's current landscaping regulations.

      The document is at the public consultation stage until October 2.

      One of the key proposals is to introduce mandatory requirements for restoring lawns and flower beds after earthworks. Currently there are no clear standards in the rules, which makes it difficult to control the quality of landscaping and does not allow refusal to accept the work even if the restoration is poorly done.

      The draft also proposes to ban the collection and removal of fallen leaves in urban forests and on areas with green plantings. Exceptions will be sod lawns, as well as narrow strips along roads and sidewalks — within 0.5 meters of the edge of the paved surface.

      The explanatory note states that leaf removal has been recognized as economically inefficient and leads to soil depletion. In addition, such a practice, according to the draft authors, does not comply with modern standards for the care of landscaped areas.

      Separate attention is paid to irrigation and the care of herbaceous plants. At air temperatures of +25°C and above, flower beds and lawns must be watered at least once every two days — in the morning or evening. Mowing lawns will be prohibited in such weather. At the same time, soil moisture should be maintained at 70–75%. During watering it is necessary to avoid washing away the soil and seeds.

      The changes will also affect the handling of solid municipal waste. In rural settlements and areas with low-rise development, it is planned to allow loading waste directly into garbage trucks according to schedule — without prior storage at collection sites. This measure complies with new federal rules that came into force on 1 September 2025.

      In addition, the mayor's office proposes to approve a catalog of the external appearance of container sites for municipal solid waste. Compliance with it will be mandatory for all waste collection facilities.

      Earlier it was reported that new rules for the collection and removal of waste came into force in the Nizhny Novgorod Region in September.

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