The fate of methane emissions in Bhalswa, a metropolis filled with dust and contaminated water: A plea to improve solid waste management
There is a constant flow of jeeps going up the trash heap to dump more garbage on a pile that is now over 202 feet high.
The Delhi Fire Service Department has responded to 14 fires this year in which heat and methane gas are the cause and some of them will smolder for weeks or months.
Some of the 200,000 residents who live in Bhalswa say the area is uninhabitable, but they can’t afford to move and have no choice but to breathe the toxic air and bathe in its contaminated water.
In 2021, India’s environment minister says that reducing the country’s total methane output could endanger the livelihood of farmers and the economy. But environmentalists say the country is facing a dire climate challenge from its steaming mounds of trash.
In a 2019 report, the Indian government recommended ways to improve the country’s solid waste management, including formalizing the recycling sector and installing more compost plants in the country.
In a statement last year, the Minister of State for Ministry of environment, forest and climate change said that if India pledges to reduce its total methane output it could threaten the livelihood of farmers and affect its trade and economic prospects.
When Narayan Choudhary, 72, moved to Bhalswa in 1982, he said it was a “beautiful place,” but that all changed 12 years later when the first rubbish began arriving at the local landfill.
Some residents at the Bhalswa landfill complain of having deep, painful skin gashes and respiratory problems from living near the hazardous mound for many years.
Choudhary suffers from chronic asthma. He said he nearly died when a large fire broke out at Bhalswa in April that burned for days. “I was in terrible shape. My nose and face were swollen. I was on my death bed,” he said.
A lot of people from this area protested two years ago to get rid of the waste. “But the municipality didn’t cooperate with us. They assured us that things will get better in two years but here we are, with no relief.”
And methane emissions aren’t the only hazard that stem from the landfill. Over decades, dangerous toxins have seeped into the ground, polluting the water supply for thousands living nearby.
CNN commissioned two labs to test the ground water around Bhalswa. It was found that at least 500 meters around the waste site is contaminated with ground water.
Results from the second lab report showed levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) – the amount of inorganic salts and organic matter dissolved in the water – detected in one of the samples was almost 19 times the acceptable limit, making it unsafe for human drinking.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has an acceptable limit of 500msds, considered good by the World Health Organization. The WHO considers anything between 900 and 1,200 ug/l to be “poor” and “unacceptable”.
Report on the Global Environmental Impact of the Ghazipur Dump in Delhi: A multi-agency study of the city’s water supply and pollution
The senior director of medical oncology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram asked the government to compare the health of the local population to other areas of the city in 15 to 20 years’ time.
Residents have to use the water they get for a variety of purposes, including washing utensils, bathing, and drinking, because it’s contaminated.
According to the report released in July, more than 2,300 tons of Municipal Solid Waste arrives at the Ghazipur dump every day, making it the largest dump in Delhi.
The report said only 300 tonnes of the waste from the surrounding area are processed and sent to a other place for disposal. And less than 7% of legacy waste had been bio-mined, which involves excavating, treating and potentially reusing old rubbish.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi uses drones to keep an eye on the size of the trash mountain and is experimenting with ways to get methane out of it.
There are no plans to reduce the height of the garbage mountain. Furthermore, “it should have proposed a long time ago that future dumping of garbage in them would pollute the groundwater systems,” the report added.
CNN sent a series of questions along with the data from water testing questionnaires to India. There has been no response from the ministries.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/10/india/india-bhalswa-landfill-pollution-climate-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
Kochi, a southern Indian city with a large legacy landfill: warnings on air quality and pollution, and consequences for the future of the Kochi landfill
In October, the National Green Tribunal fined the state government more than $100 million for failing to dispose of more than 30 million metric tonnes of waste across its three landfill sites.
“Management of legacy waste, of course, is mandated by the government and is very, very important. But you just can’t start the process without having an alternative facility of fresh waste. So that’s the biggest challenge.”
Firefighters in the southern Indian city of Kochi were toiling Tuesday to control toxic fumes from spreading after a landfill burst into flames five days ago, cloaking the area in a thick haze and choking residents.
India has a growing climate challenge, as evidenced by the country’s latest trash mountain to catch fire, and dangerous heat and methane emissions.
Authorities advised residents in the city of more than 600,000 to remain indoors or wear N95 face masks if they head outside. Schools were closed on Monday because of the pollution.
The thick cloud of smoke and methane gas continues to cover the area, which is bad for visibility and the city’s air quality.
Commissioned in 2008, the landfill is spread across 16 acres, according to a 2020 report from the International Urban Cooperation, a European Union program.
The landfill gets 100 metric tons of plastic waste a day and only 1% is suitable for recycling, according to the study. The study said that 99% of the population is thrown away as a pile at the site.
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