Implications of Residential Buildings in Proximate Distance to the Haags Bosh Landfill Site

Authors: Shanomae Eastman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37082/IJIRMPS.v12.i2.230558

Short DOI: https://doi.org/gtq9qn

Country: Guyana

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Abstract: Twenty percent of the anthropogenic methane emissions worldwide originate from landfills. In addition, landfills typically contain a wide range of other gases, some of which are dangerous in low quantities. Through the liners' weaknesses, leachate can migrate to surface water or even groundwater, which is problematic because rehabilitating aquifers takes a long time. Landfill construction and operation have ecological repercussions that can result in altered landscapes, habitat loss, and fauna relocation. The socio-economic effects of landfills include the threats to public health posed by leachate-contaminated surface water or groundwater, the spread of litter into surrounding areas, and insufficient recycling efforts on the site. People typically list odors, noise, smoke, and annoyances like insects as reasons they are opposed to living near landfills. Numerous studies concluded that, depending on the actual distance from the landfill, home values are probably negatively impacted by landfills. In Guyana, several effects are reported due to the Haags Bosh Sanitary Landfill site being in the vicinity of residential and industrial areas. These include the spontaneous combustion of the landfill, which results in the suffering of inhabitants of neighboring settlements due to the heavy grey smoke polluting the atmosphere and the incidence of odour, noise, and dust pollution. Additionally, the lack of sorting of hazardous and recyclable materials results in the disposal of various kinds of waste in an environmentally unsafe way. Policies and regulations that support recycling, reusing, and minimizing waste need to be implemented, and extensive public consultations need to be done. Approaches for selecting the most appropriate solid waste disposal site need to be utilized.

Keywords: Landfill, Haags Bosh Sanitary Site, Landfill Site, Proximate Distance

Paper Id: 230558

Published On: 2024-04-17

Published In: Volume 12, Issue 2, March-April 2024

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