Dolinka. An Illegal Dumping Site

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Coordinates: 42.646566, 77.017158

Unauthorized dumps are one of the significant factors of pollution, negatively impacting natural components: the atmosphere, water sources, soil, and plant and animal life. By being placed directly on the soil surface, dumps remove a substantial portion of land from agricultural circulation and the biosphere, introducing pollutants into them.
When waste placed in unauthorized dumps ignites, toxic and poisonous substances are released into the atmosphere. Atmospheric precipitation washes heavy metals and other substances from the dump body, which, by contaminating the soil, penetrate into surface waters. With prolonged storage in dump layers, biogas begins to form, the main components of which are flammable methane and carbon dioxide. Unauthorized dumps are breeding grounds for insects and rats, active carriers of infection.

Unauthorized dumps in the system of environmental monitoring serve as sources of impact on all components of the environment. An important feature of this source of environmental pollution is its spatial and temporal variability, both in volume and composition. Dumps are dangerous sources of environmental pollution, primarily affecting soils, surface and groundwater, and animal and plant life. The greatest danger is posed by dumps located in water protection zones of water bodies, river floodplains, low-lying areas (ravines, gullies), near drinking water wells, and on agricultural fields. The size of spontaneous dumps is increasing at a catastrophic rate. They consume land, lead to the death of local flora and fauna, expand to the nearest settlements, and poison people. The irrational, outdated, and immoral policies of local authorities and capital officials in the field of waste collection and disposal have resulted in thousands of semi-spontaneous dumps operating in Kyrgyzstan. All of them do not meet modern requirements for the organization of such facilities. Dozens of hectares of beautiful and invaluable land have been allocated for dumps.