资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

For more than 50 years, if somebody threw something away in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, it likely ended up in the Estrutural dump.

Once the largest open landfill in Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 2,700 metric tons of municipal waste were ending up here daily by 2018. The garbage was not separated, covered or compacted, but was often burned. The dump did not have leachate management nor landfill gas collection systems in place. 

As a result, toxic gases polluted the air, soil and water around the dumpsite, sickening locals, particularly the 2,500 waste pickers who combed the landfill for recyclables.

The dumpsite was closed in 2018 and replaced by recycling plants and a sanitary landfill further away from the city. It is estimated that this measure will avoid at least 70% of the 1.4 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO_2e) equivalent that the landfill would have generated by 2050.

The fate of Estrutural mirrors that of many other ageing dumps in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last 10 years, governments have closed some of the most polluted landfills in the region, including sprawling facilities in Brazil, Mexico and Nicaragua. The drive is part of an effort by countries to cut down on pollution and stem the flood of greenhouse gases; comes after years of lobbying by environmentalists.

Closing open dumpsites and moving towards sustainable waste management systems is a key to achieving “Clean Air for All”, the theme of the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, observed on September 7, as established by the United Nations General Assembly.

Currently, dumpsites receive 40 per cent of the world's waste, particularly in developing countries. In Latin America and the Caribbean, around 145,000 tonnes of garbage ends up in dumpsites every day, where the decomposition and burning of waste generate powerful gases that pollute the atmosphere, make people sick and contribute to climate change.