Locations of more than 60,000 landfills pinpointed across Europe in first-of-its-kind analysis, uncovering a multitude of potential threats to ecosystems and communities.
Thousands of landfills across Europe lie in flood-risk zones, areas which could endanger drinking water or sensitive conservation sites, Investigate Europe and Watershed Investigations can reveal. The largest landfill mapping exercise ever undertaken across the continent has found that many of these sites risk leaching toxic chemicals into waterways, bringing a potential cocktail of harms to humans and surrounding ecosystems.There are estimated to be up to 500,000 landfills scattered across the EU and UK, with roughly 90 per cent established before pollution control regulations. Their exact locations, however, remain broadly unknown, largely due to a lack of consistent data and the fact that many sites have been covered over.
Analysis of data obtained from Freedom of Information requests, government agencies and public sources pinpointed the locations of more than 60,000 sites. Many are likely to be historic, pre-dating the European Union’s 1999 Landfills Directive, meaning that they could lack modern-day containment measures, such as the use of protective lining to prevent leakages of harmful waste.
“Europe is obviously ignoring its landfill crisis,” Jutta Paulus, a German MEP with the Green grouping, said in response to the findings. “The hundreds of thousands of legacy sites, many in flood- or erosion-prone zones, remain a dangerous blind spot.”
From the ‘forever chemicals’ seeping out of a former landfill in Greece’s tourist-friendly Taygetos Mountains to the landfill debris crumbling from parts of Britain’s coastlines, the investigation represents a first-of-its-kind study into the state of Europe’s waste sites.
Among those mapped, almost 30 per cent were found to be in areas with a significant risk of flooding, raising the possibility of toxic waste entering water systems and surrounding land. More than 3000 sites exist in protected conservation areas, leaving ecosystems and natural habitats at risk of pollution. Thousands more were found where groundwater has poor chemical status, something that landfills have possibly exacerbated. In addition, almost 10,000 were identified in drinking water zones across France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.
Those most visibly at risk are situated along the coast. The analysis found 346 landfills in coastal erosion zones in England, Wales and France, while more than 250 sites elsewhere across Europe are within 200 metres of the coast, potentially at risk of erosion or exposure from storm surges.
“With increasing frequency and magnitudes of floods and erosion from climate change, there’s a greater risk of these wastes washing into our environment,” said Patrick Byrne of Liverpool John Moores University, adding that harmful materials disseminating from the landfills bring other threats. “We know plastics are accumulating in wildlife, humans and environments and there’s emerging evidence of negative health impacts.” In the UK, it is estimated that 80 per cent of the population live within two kilometres of known landfill sites. More of this article (Investigate Europe) - link - more like this (landfill) - link - more like this (pollution) - link