In 2016, during a fire at a landfill in Gribovichi, three rescuers and one utility worker were killed as a result of dislodged waste. Photo: portal.lviv.ua
Landfill is a territory of many troubles. Due to the lack of control over the contents of garbage trucks and improper sorting, completely different wastes are brought there, ranging from food leftovers (and there are usually most of them) to such dangerous types as mercury thermometers, fluorescent lamps and more.
Thousands of such illegal landfills in Ukraine daily create inconvenience for residents of nearby settlements.
Thousands of such illegal landfills in Ukraine daily create inconvenience for residents of nearby settlements.
The Vinnytsia region has the largest number of landfills in Ukraine. Photo: vezha.ua
— As far as I know, we do not have official garbage dumps. People cry because in the summer there is no air to breathe, because someone constantly burns the waste. Because of this, people leave their homes and move to other settlements, — a public activist Andrei Khalabuzar told reporters of the “Volnovakha.City” on the situation with a spontaneous dump near the community of Velikaya Novosyolka in May 2021.
Those who do not have the opportunity to change their place of residence have to endure a toxic neighborhood for years. For example, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, a landfill on the territory of the Burshtyn community has been over half a century. According to the “Obschestvennoye. Karpaty” source residents have been demanding its closure and reclamation for years. However, the problem is not resolved.
Those who do not have the opportunity to change their place of residence have to endure a toxic neighborhood for years. For example, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, a landfill on the territory of the Burshtyn community has been over half a century. According to the “Obschestvennoye. Karpaty” source residents have been demanding its closure and reclamation for years. However, the problem is not resolved.
In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, a landfill with an area of more than 4 hectares has existed for more than 50 years without documentation. Photo: suspilne.media
— In a strong wind, papers, oilcloths, packages — everything flies to the village, to the yards. I live near the church, and everything flies here — to the fields, to the wheat. But after all, we eat this bread ... — a local resident Maryan Bodenko told the journalists of the “Obschestvennoye”.
But are these the only inconveniences of such a neighborhood?
But are these the only inconveniences of such a neighborhood?
Living next to a garbage volcano
It's no secret that landfills often catch fires. The main cause of fires is seemingly innocent organic matter. Organic residues lying under rubble for a long time without access to oxygen do not rot, as it should happen in the natural environment. They decompose, forming an explosive gas — methane. As it heats up, it explodes and starts a fire. Then smog covers all the surroundings. Residents are beginning to complain about declining health.
— The landfill carries cancer, and not only cancer. Someone has asthma. Sometimes, children came and got sick from this smoke, ended up in the hospital. My neighbor returned from abroad, so her son fell ill, and he was taken to the hospital precisely because of this, — shared Vladimir Sisak, a resident of the village of Nimshin in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The danger to the locals also comes from animals. A large amount of organic matter in landfills, in particular food debris, attracts birds, rodents and small animals. Waste can contain pathogens of dangerous diseases, such as hepatitis A, encephalitis, leptospirosis and helminth eggs, and birds, eating in such “canteens”, unwittingly become distributors, carrying pathogens on their paws and feathers. Actually, like the animals that feed there. By the way, according to state sanitary standards, landfills should be equipped with special sound installations to scare away birds. However, since landfills are illegal, there is no such equipment.
The danger to the locals also comes from animals. A large amount of organic matter in landfills, in particular food debris, attracts birds, rodents and small animals. Waste can contain pathogens of dangerous diseases, such as hepatitis A, encephalitis, leptospirosis and helminth eggs, and birds, eating in such “canteens”, unwittingly become distributors, carrying pathogens on their paws and feathers. Actually, like the animals that feed there. By the way, according to state sanitary standards, landfills should be equipped with special sound installations to scare away birds. However, since landfills are illegal, there is no such equipment.
Tragedy at the Gribovichi landfill. Photo: portal.lviv.ua
Instead of a conclusion
Spontaneous dumps are scattered throughout all regions of Ukraine. The inhabitants of the settlements that border them have a common pain: they have become hostages of their place of residence. Despite everything, they are fighting for a better life for themselves and their children, participating in street protests, blocking the road to the landfill, knocking on the thresholds of local officials' offices, waiting for years for a response to multiple letters to the central authorities. They have the same dreams — closing such dumps, their reclamation, building landfills and waste processing plants.