Illegal waste deposits – one of the biggest environmental issue
MEP Vlad Gheorghe reported several illegal waste deposits from Olt County. The information was revealed on his Facebook page. In an organized action, together with his colleague Octavian Berceanu, who is nominated by USRPLUS to be the next chief of The National Environmental Guard, The MEP filmed the pile of waste which had been illegally stored on a field in Corabia town’s proximity.
”Our target was to verify in the field if the information sent to us by citizens are true. And they were right. From our information, this landfill is illegal. In papers, this field owned by Corabia City Hall is granted for being a vegetable waste storage. The reality is that the vegetable waste are actually household waste and recyclable elements (plastic, paper), all mixed together and illegally stored”, explained Vlad Gheorghe.
The local councilor USRPLUS, Mihaela Safta says that National Environmental Guard was aware of the situation from the registered complaints. But even so nothing happened. Vlad Gheorghe and Octavian Berceanu filmed today five illegal landfills in Olt County. one of them situated right on a Natura 2000 site, on Danube shore.
European experts warned in several occasions that illegal waste dumping corroborated with the lack of modern technology in waste management represent one of the biggest environmental issue in Romania. Furthermore, in recent years, the pollution caused by landfills has lead to environmental monitoring run by European institutions.
The discharge of the waste and the recycling procedures has to be safe for the environment and for the citizens health, according to the community legislation and the Romanian law. This means that it is forbidden to storage the waste in an uncontrollable manner.
Also, Waste Management Framework Directive establishes for the member states to reach several targets regarding waste recycling. 50% in 2020, 55% until 2025, 60% until 2030 and 65% until 2035. Romania recycles only 13% of waste. But starting with 2021 we are obliged to collect food resides and vegetal waste separately of household waste. This obligation has to be supported by the city halls with all the necessary measures.
