Columbia: Meadows emerge from the rubbish
Located
in Villavicencio, capital of the central department of Meta, the landfill
takes in around 300 metric tons of waste on a daily basis which is processed,
broken down and incorporated into the soil. Over the years, the plot
has turned into a lush meadow.
The
landfill belongs to the company Bioagricola del Llano, which “provides
sanitation services such as sweeping of public routes and spaces, collection
and transport and final disposal” in Villavicencio and several surrounding
municipalities, commercial director Patricia Díaz said.
Before
depositing the solid waste, technical studies and engineering projects
are carried out to prevent contamination of the surrounding areas. Each
plot where waste is to be disposed of, is made impermeable to prevent
the liquids produced during decomposition from leaching into the soil,
subsoil and sources of water.
The
garbage is compacted to optimize the use of space and, once each zone
is complete, it is closed off and planted with vegetation to convert
it into grassy areas and gardens.
“This
sanitary landfill is a project that the community supports because of
its results,” and its aim is to project the image that, with technical
and environmental management, “it can be converted into an ecosystem
that benefits for the population,” said Díaz.
There
are two daily guided visits with environmentalists through the Ecological
Recycling Park that has emerged from the landfill.
The
tour begins with different species of Japanese bamboo (Phyllostachys
aurea) and ‘guadua’ (Angustifolia kunth), of the spiny bamboos of the
Americas, which the guides note are very useful for protecting water
resources.
The
park also has an artificial lagoon just a few meters from an area that
took in waste from the city in previous years.
In
and around the lagoon, native and exotic fauna coexist, attracted by
the abundant vegetation, product of the process of environmental compensation
carried out here.
“Its
gardens and paths invite one to relax, and demonstrate that beautiful
things can come from garbage too,” Ana Jiménez, university student and
one of the more than 20,000 people who have visited the park in the
past three years, said.
According
to Colombian Environment Minister Sandra Suárez, this type of initiative
“serves as a model for the rest of the country and as an example that
should be replicated” in other regions.
She
chose Don Juanito as the launch site in July for the government program
“Colombia free of open-air dumps”, through which the country will work
to deal with the final disposal of solid waste. According to some analysts,
the current system is on the verge of collapse.
The
program will involve municipalities in the process of shutting down
open-air dumps, and converting them into sanitary landfills.
According
to the environmental authority, the country produces 27,300 metric tons
of garbage each day, of which 65 percent is organic waste, and 35 percent
inorganic. Just 40 percent receives adequate treatment, and only 10
percent is recovered through recycling.
According
to the United Nations Environment Program, Central America (except for
Costa Rica), the Guyanas, and most Caribbean countries do not have landfills.
This is also the case for all non-capital cities in Bolivia, Ecuador,
and Peru, and for many medium-sized cities with the exception of those
in Chile, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and Colombia. In the absence of
landfills, wastes are disposed of in open-air dumps. These dumps pose
significant environmental health risks, which, in some cases, have been
documented. Waste pickers enter freely into the dumps, sometimes living
there.
Colombian
government attorney Edgardo Maya said in a June 2004 report that the
crisis of inadequate treatment of Colombia’s waste was “an attack on
public health.”
In
the report, he pointed to the mayors and environmental authorities as
responsible for the crisis, for failing to enforce compliance with existing
laws.
The
document included the results of a study coordinated by the delegation
for environmental and agricultural affairs in 194 municipalities, including
28 departmental capitals, encompassing a population of 29 million people.
According
to the study, 41.4 percent of the municipalities operated without environmental
licenses or waste management plans, violating laws which state that
any activity that deteriorates natural resources or introduces major
alterations to the landscape or the environment requires prior authorization.