The increase of the world’s population has led to an increase in consumption, production of goods and, consequently, an increase in the production of garbage. Not all countries follow sustainable waste treatment and management practices and the solutions presented are not always well accepted by populations. There is, however, the certainty and conviction that waste is a very serious problem, either by the quantity generated or by its typology, since it can seriously affect public health and generate damages to the planet, some irreversible. Landfills, even if they are not the best solution for waste management, have made a significant contribution to reducing the environmental impact of excessive waste production in a country already without open air dump sites, but where each inhabitant produces on average about 500 kg of waste per year. Ours.
The waste we found in the dump sites produces bacteria and fungi and still attracts rats, flies, cockroaches and other animals which seriously harms not only the human beings – since these animals are transmitters of highly dangerous diseases like leptospirosis or tetanus – but also the environment, since, in addition to visual pollution, waste and products resulting from their decomposition infiltrate the soil and contaminate groundwater. Waste also produces gases that harm the health of living beings, causing respiratory problems.
The Suldouro landfill in Sermonde received the waste that has been produced since 1999 by the approximately 440,000 inhabitants of Santa Maria da Feira and Vila Nova de Gaia. This landfill occupies 13 hectares and is 8 meters deep. During its period of action, that is, 17 years, it received approximately 450 thousand kilograms of undifferentiated waste per day, which is equivalent to 1.2 kg / inhab / day. After its closure, this landfill will be transformed into a green park that can be appreciated by the population.
The increasing of population that implies the increasing amount of waste generated in our homes and in the productive industries do not allow ecosystems to regenerate and recycle them naturally at the scale of human life, which requires their treatment and efficient and sustainable management. At the same time, Western societies, which have been living a consumer vertigo for many years – as markets and employment impose – cannot effectively govern the frightening amount of waste they produce. And the amount is as big as the problem it creates for some countries, especially for those who have tight rules and effective controls on waste management. The problem is especially serious when it comes to industrial waste.
The solution seems easy: to sell the waste to others. In fact, there are more and more countries involved in this business – the waste business – and neither does our country escape, as happened last year with the arrival of 2,500 tons (from the 20,000 planned) of Italian waste. But if, for us, this is an exceptional situation and properly monitored by the authorities, there are countries where control is practically non-existent or at least very fragile. These are the cases of Albania, already called the scrap of Europe, Somalia and Ghana, African champions of the import of electronic waste, but also Brazil and China, among many others. But, after all, this is no more than moving the problem from place, since the planet is the same. So, if waste importers don’t have technical conditions to process it without damaging the environment, then we can say that they are just sweeping the rubbish under the rug. And this is not just their problem. This is also a responsibility of the countries that produce it and export it.
Concerning urban waste, the situation is also not famous. And Portugal is no exception. According to 2016 data from the Portuguese Environmental Agency, there are 52 sanitary landfills in our country, 34 of them (ie two thirds) dedicated to the treatment of non-hazardous wastes of urban origin – solid urban waste. The Portuguese produce around 5 million tons of urban waste per year, corresponding to an annual rate of approximately 500 kg of waste per inhabitant. In other words, each Portuguese produces an average of half a ton of waste per year, with landfills being the main destination for this waste, receiving 54% of the total produced in Portugal. These numbers show clearly the importance of landfills in our country.
In Portugal, open dumps were banned in the 1990s, in contrast to what is still happening in other developing countries. Until that time, practically only glass was recycled and reused. Since then, not all alternatives to the dumps have been accepted peacefully by the populations, as it is the case of sanitary landfills. In fact, landfills have originated a lot of protests in all the places proposed for their implementation, as nobody wants to have them at their doorstep. But then, what to do with waste? Is there reason for landfills to be regarded so hatefully?
The lack of information about the construction and the maintenance rules of a landfill has inflamed a lot of people who are often unaware of the care that these structures are obliged to take with waste sorting, with the application of efficient drainage systems and with the treatment of leaching waters at purpose stations.
Actually, the implantation of a landfill requires a large area of land and a correct landscaping, requires strict control of the waste to be deposited, has a limited useful life (maximum 25 years, according to the most optimistic experts) and in addition, it has high costs of construction. All these requirements collaborate in the argumentation of those who oppose to landfills construction. But the benefits seem to outweigh the charges: landfills allow the correct disposal of solid urban waste, have a large waste reception capacity, reduce the risk of environmental pollution, prevent disease transmission, keep water, the soil and the air protected, reduce the risk of fire and preserve the quality of life for the future generations. Moreover, when the useful life of the landfill is finished, it is possible to requalify the land in landscape terms.
Is it a perfect solution? Of course not! But landfills, together with incineration (burning of wastes in incinerators) and co-incineration (burning in industrial ovens), are the two largest resources available to combat our massive and unstoppable production of waste, while the consumption habits of populations do not change drastically and another environmental awareness does not take place in societies.
Landfills do not solve the waste problem but, actually, have helped to solve the problem of dump sites. It is not a total solution but, as a controlled system, it is a better option to minimize the environmental impact of waste and to protect public health.
Really good would be to reduce the production of waste, consuming less, not acquiring what we do not need, increasing the useful life of part of what we consume through recycling and reuse. It’s not much work for each one and the benefits are many and in favor of everyone. It’s a question of attitude, it’s a question of citizenship.
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