Every year, more than half a million people die worldwide due to exposure to contaminated soil. Most deaths occur in vulnerable groups: children and the elderly. It is them who are subject to long-term negative effects of toxic substances. Such disappointing data was voiced by the European Environment Agency in a 2022 article “Soil pollution and health”. It also states that most EU land is considered unhealthy, with 2.8 million potentially contaminated sites, while combating soil degradation in the EU costs 50 billion euro annually.

According to the report of the Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, in 2020 in the Republic of Moldova there were 1136 landfills with an area of 1221 ha. It is like 1900 football fields. Landfills are located directly on the ground, without protective screens and other hydraulic structures, which allows toxic substances to penetrate into the soil, groundwater and pollute areas, even remote from the place of waste disposal.

Aurelia Bahnaru, President of the E-Circular public organization, emphasizes that landfills are not only a problem of presence, but also of content. She draws attention to the fact that more than half of the discarded waste is organic.

According to Aurelia, it is important to remember that not everything we throw away decomposes. For example, most waste contains plastic, but it does not rot and carries enormous risks for the environment.

According to the Study on Plastic Waste in the Republic of Moldova, from 2018 to 2022, more than 3,000 tons of plastic bags were imported into the country. This means that all of them ended up in Moldovan landfills and pollute the soil with microplastics. At the same time, not only the smallest plastic particles diffuse into the soil, but also chemicals that are added to plastic packaging.

One such compound is bisphenol-A (BPA). Every person faces it throughout life. This chemical affects the hormonal system, especially in women and children, provokes appearance of various diseases and developmental problems.

• A list of all diseases caused by bisphenol-A can be found on the website of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda (Maryland, USA).

Improper storage of electrical and electronic waste also poses a danger: it leads to the release of heavy metals into the soil. According to Ruslan Nerkash, CEO of MoldRec group SRL, from year to year, the volume of electronic waste in Moldova is only increasing.

Despite the fact that the Moldovan legislation is brought in line with the European one, in practice, the management of electrical and electronic waste is still in its infancy. So far, modern methods of disinfecting contaminated soils have not been applied in the country, since this is a rather expensive pleasure.

When electronic waste is buried, heavy metals enter the soil, which then end up in groundwater and in our food. Penetrating into the human body, they have a cumulative effect, which leads to various endocrine and autoimmune diseases, oncology, problems with the nervous system, diseases of the bones and digestive organs.

• A list of all the health effects of heavy metals can be found in the scientific journal “Scientific Reports”.

For 6 years, the ecological farmer Alexander Perzhan has been growing hazelnuts on a plot in the village of Puhoi, Ialoveni district of Moldova. All these years he has been facing a constant problem — garbage near his gardens.

His property is located near the local landfill. He says that the stench spreads to the whole neighborhood. Plastic packaging, paper, glass, pieces of furniture are scattered everywhere. Everything is piled up in a heap mixed with manure, leaves or spoiled food. The wind constantly blows debris onto Alexander's territory. He plows the ground on a tractor - and a lot of plastic package remains in the furrow. Not only soils are polluted, but also water. The farmer even had to make additional investments to buy clean water and transport it by tankers from Chisinau, so as not to use contaminated local water.

Therefore, the whole world is gradually moving to organic farming. For example, in the EU countries, 8.5% of all agricultural areas are cultivated this way. By 2025, the European Commission sets a goal to increase this figure to 25%. However, in Moldova, according to the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture, in 2022, only 1,1% of the country's agricultural land was allocated for organic farming.

Alexander Perzhan is one of the few who have abandoned chemical fertilizers and pesticides:

According to Grigore Friptuliak, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Honored Professor of the Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, pesticides used in agriculture can remain in the soil and get into food products (vegetables, fruits) in quantities that exceed the hygiene standards provided for by state regulations. This can have a significant impact on human health, causing acute and chronic poisoning.

Although each of the experts offered their own solution to the problem, it is obvious that close cooperation between the authorities and society is required. It is necessary at the state level to change the technology of land cultivation and waste management, especially with plastic, electronic and organic waste. In addition, politicians should pursue a tougher policy in favor of organic farming, call for investment in it, says Tamara Shiopu, an agricultural expert. Investments are also needed in more efficient waste sorting and disposal methods.

But first of all, you need to start with yourself. We, ordinary citizens, definitely need to stop using single-use plastic, start sorting e-waste for recycling and composting organics.


Author: Lyudmila Khitsuk, “Ecopresa” journalist