The Waste Mountain

Landfill Waste

The Ghazipur landfill, near the New Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, was commissioned in 1984. Its lifespan expired in 2002, when the landfill was already 20 meters high. But people kept dumping, there was no alternative.
According to the latest reports submitted to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi’s waste dumping at three of its landfills in Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla has increased by 15% in a year.
New Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill has grown to about 73 m in height. It is the highest waste mountain in the world.
It is one of about 3,000 Indian landfills.
The problems:
– Air pollution: It burns regularly, causing major inconvenience to local residents.
– Water pollution: Dangerous toxins run into the ground and contaminate the water supply.
– Insecurity: The waste mountain regularly collapses; “Waste avalanches” that kill people.
700 garbage trucks are added every day.

Usually within a year, anaerobic conditions develop and methane-producing bacteria begin to break down the waste and produce methane. Methane has the property of being self-igniting at temperatures of 60-70 degrees Celsius, which can easily be reached in landfills in summer. Highly flammable waste such as plastic is dumped at the site in abundance. Therefore, the presence of methane, even in small amounts, can cause a major fire. This is what is happening in Ghazipur.

Waste is a huge problem, there is even a lot of business worldwide around waste. It is transported back and forth around the world.
It starts with ourselves, by consuming less. Subsequently, less needs to be produced. If more can be reused and recycled, these types of landfills may become a thing of the past. But we all have to participate!

Written by Frank Landman

Contributed by Francis van Schaik

From Happinez

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