Novyi Svet: A large landslide in a landfill site in Russia

On Thursday 20 October 2022 a large and notable landslide occurred at a landfill site in the village of Novyi Svet (Новый свет) in Gatchinsky, Russia (the village is at 59.559, 30.201).  Unsurprisingly in these troubled times this has not been reported in the western media, but it is an impressive failure.

The Russian website 78.ru has this image of the aftermath of the landslide:-

The landslide at a landfill site Novyi Svet (Новый свет) in Russia. Image from 78.ru.

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There are some videos on Twitter, of which this is a good example (please excuse the music):-

レニングラード州ガッチナでごみ山が崩落して悪臭がすごいとの事。
ここを管理している会社はНовый Свет-ЭКО pic.twitter.com/4bvZSgJAbP

— しか (@shika_ishi) October 20, 2022

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This is a still taken from that video:-

The landslide at a landfill site Novyi Svet (Новый свет) in Russia. Image from a still from a video that was tweeted by @shika_ishi.

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This appears to be a rotational landside in the wall of the landfill site.  The lower part of the landslide has transitioned into an earthflow.  Many of the images show smoke, suggesting that there is some combustion of the waste occurring.

The Russian website dp.ru has a more detailed description of the landfill (in Russian).  The site accepts domestic waste from Gatchinsky district of the Leningrad region and ten districts of St Petersburg.  Despite the failure it continues to operate as usual.  The height of the walls of the facility is about 60 m, and the site has been in operation since 2001.  No-one was killed or injured in the landslide.

I can find no information as to a likely trigger or cause of this unusual landslide at Novyi Svet (Новый свет).  I have covered a number of tragic landfill / garbage landslides over the years, including several in poorer countries that have caused multiple fatalities. In general such failures occur because of poor management of the waste and/or of the water and gas that landfill sites generate.