Waste for charity? The case of the Ukrainian Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations in Ukraine in the 1920s

Abstract

The article argues that the Ukrainian Red Cross (URC), the Central Commission for Aid to Children under the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee (CCAC), and the Committee for Aid to Sick and Wounded Red Army Soldiers (AUCCASWRAS) played a key role in launching waste recycling activities in Ukraine in the early 1920s. At that time, waste recycling was seen as a promising source of income, and these humanitarian organizations needed funds to carry out their activities, such as combating child homelessness, supporting and treating demobilized wounded and sick Red Army soldiers, providing assistance to the population of famine-affected areas, etc. This activity was possible due to the accumulation of large amounts of waste in Ukraine and the lack of systematic work on its collection and recycling. The author shows the role of these humanitarian organizations in the creation and operation of one of the largest waste collectors in Ukraine – the company Ukrutilzbir. It is concluded that the Soviet authorities tried to exploit the idea of charity, which was to be implemented in the form of free transfer of waste by enterprises to Ukrutilzbir, but it did not take root, as it contradicted the ideology of rationalism and pragmatism and economic relations of the NEP period. At the same time, the idea of creating Ukrutilzbir as a business project that generated dividends was implemented quite successfully. The achievements of Ukrutulzbir are considered in the context of the waste collection problems in an economy of deficit and the limited ability of the population and enterprises to produce large amounts of waste. The author concludes that the connection of waste collection with the idea of charity is one of the distinctive features of the early Soviet waste regime in Ukraine. This study is based on the use of previously unknown archival documents and reveals unexplored pages of waste recycling activities and sources of funding for humanitarian organizations in Ukraine during the early Soviet period.