The Ochiul Boului-Glina landfill first appeared 30 years ago, on the site of the old Ochiul Boului pond, in what was back then the village of Popesti-Leordeni. After the 1977 earthquake, Ochiul Boului pond became a landfill for the people of Bucharest, and the largest trash repository in the capital. Here, people used to bring their household waste and thus, the Glina landfill was born, but only after the earthquake of 1977, which severely hit Bucharest, did its residents truly begin to use it. All the rubble, concrete pieces and shattered remains of buildings that were the result of the earthquake had to be dumped somewhere and thus, an uncontrolled landfill emerged, a “mountain of trash” 15 to 20 meters tall, covering an area of 37 hectares.

The landfill greatly affects the environment and has become a serious issue for the inhabitants of the surrounding areas, most of whom are employed in agriculture and industry. But who is responsible for this? Mostly our society and our negligence when it comes to waste, which has serious repercussions, such as soil, air and water pollution, the appearance of numerous outbreaks of infections and negative effects on the health of nearby residents. This landfill operates without any means of protection against the infiltration of leachate into the soil and the emission of unpleasant odors, gasses and smokes.

The soil is a natural, open and multifunctional body (with various ecological and economical functions) but in the Glina area, the soil can be best described as “dead”; the soil’s state strongly affects water quality, which is infected by various pathogenic microorganisms. As a consequence, agriculture is impossible in the area, at least in theory, and water cannot be employed for its previous uses, that existed before the pollution occurred, but, in reality, people continue to use the water and consume the crops, all this due to a lack of economic means and the authorities’ refusal to take action against the pollution at the Glina landfill.

Nevertheless, in 2008, a greening program began, which involved the construction of 8 cells for storing waste, 4 of which are already completed. The process of restoring the environment is based on applying new technologies for capturing and burning biogas, installed inside the landfill. In order to capture biogas, a number of shafts have been built in the earth beneath the piles of trash. A specialized vacuum station draws these gases which are subsequently burned. The leachate (a liquid resulting from rotting household waste) is pumped to the surface. After it is fed through a purification machine, 60% of it turns into water and the remaining 40%, representing the concentrate, gets pumped back to the surface in order to accelerate the complete decomposition of waste materials.

Article written by Netcu Ancuta Gabriela and translated by Mihail Mitoșeriu.

(Netcu Ancuta Gabriela is a 2^nd year student at the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Environmental Geography section)

Photo sources:

http://www.adevarul.ro/actualitate/verde

http://www.romanialibera.ro/timpul-liber/eco

Depozitul de deseuri Ochiul Boului Glina a fost infiintat in urma cu mai bine de 30 de ani, pe amplasamentul baltii Ochiul Boului de pe raza comunei Popesti-Leordeni. Dupa cutremurul din 1977, Balta Ochiul Boului a devenit groapa de gunoi a bucurestenilor, cel mai mare depozit de deseuri al capitalei. Pe acest teren, locuitorii aveau obiceiul de a-si aduce reziduurile menajere. Asa a aparut groapa de langa Glina, insa abia dupa cutremurul din 1977 care a zguduit Capitala, renumita groapa de gunoi a inceput sa fie cu adevarat exploatata. Toate molozurile, betoanele si daramaturile produse in urma cutremurului trebuiau depozitate undeva; astfel, s-a format practic un depozit necontrolat de deseuri, rezultand un “munte” de deseuri inalt de 15-20 metri, pe o suprafata de 37 hectare.

Groapa de gunoi afecteaza intr-o masura foarte mare mediul inconjurator şi a devenit o problemă reala pentru oamenii din acea zona, in care principalele  activitati economice sunt agricultura si industria. Dar cine este principalul responsabil? Societatea si neglijenta noastra in privinta deseurilor, ce determina consecinte grave, cum sunt poluarea solului, aerului, apei, formarea focarelor de infectie, dar si îmbolnavirea locuitorilor din apropiere. Aceasta groapa functioneaza fara nici o masura de protectie impotriva infiltrarii levigatului in sol sau impotriva emanatiilor de mirosuri, gaze, fumuri.

Solul este considerat ca fiind un corp natural, deschis, polifunctional (care indeplineste functii economice, ecologice) dar in aceasta zona putem vorbi despre un “sol mort”; in stransa legatura cu starea solului este si situatia apei, care la randul ei este infestata cu diverse microorganisme patogene. Ca urmare, in aceasta zona, teoretic, agricultura este imposibila, apa nu mai poate fi folosita in scopurile pentru care era destinata inainte de interventia poluarii însa, practic, oamenii continua sa foloseasca apa si sa consume culturile, cauzele fiind economice dar si administrative – lipsa de interes a autoritatilor in vederea luarii unor masuri privind groapa de gunoi Glina.

In anul 2008 a inceput ecologizarea zonei, proiectul avand in vedere construirea a opt celule pentru deseuri, patru dintre celule fiind finalizate. Ecologizarea zonei consta in aplicarea noilor tehnologii de captare si ardere a biogazului, montate in interiorul rampei de gunoi. Pentru a capta acest biogaz, in pamantul de sub mormanele de gunoaie s-au construit niste puturi. Printr-o statie speciala de vacuum sunt trase gazele, care ulterior sunt arse.  Levigatul (lichidul care rezulta din putrefactia gunoaielor menajere), in schimb, se pompeaza la suprafata. Dupa ce trece printr-o tehnologie de epurare, lichidul se transforma in apa, in proportie de 60 %, iar cele 40 de procente ramase reprezinta concentratul, care este pompat din nou la suprafata pentru a ajuta la putrefactia totala a deseurilor.

Articol realizat de Netcu Ancuta Gabriela

(Netcu Ancuta Gabriela este studenta in anul II la Facultatea de Geografie, Universitatea din Bucuresti, specializarea Geografia Mediului)

Surse fotografii:

http://www.adevarul.ro/actualitate/verde

http://www.romanialibera.ro/timpul-liber/eco