Waste generation and
its management are sensitive subjects for most municipalities, and even more so
in the developing countries, where problems encompass the growing production of
waste, very low consumer consciousness, limited incentives for separation of
waste at the source, problems in the recycling chain, disposal management, to
name a few.
When it comes to
impacts of waste generation and management, they range from air contamination
and release of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, leachates
that contaminate water and soil with chemicals such as heavy metals and organic
compounds, and numerous health effects for the waste management workers and
local populations.
In Ecuador, the
current solid waste generation rate is 0,81 kg/person/day, but there are large
differences between regions. According to Soliz Torres (2015), the differences between
the highest and lowest producing cantons are extreme and range from 0,1 to 2,21
kg/person/day for 2012.
The great majority of
waste disposal sites in the country are waste dumps that use virtually zero
management techniques, but they are in a process of being closed permanently
and substituted by sanitary landfills that generate fewer health and
environmental impacts, a goal that should be accomplished by 2017.
Unfortunately, due to
the confidentiality agreement of my work contract, I can’t publish my own work
regarding the subject, so instead I present here a map published by Soliz
Torres in a very interesting article entitled “Political ecology and critical
geography of waste in Ecuador”.
Source: Soilz Torres (2015): Political ecology and critical geography of
waste in Ecuador. Letras
Verdes. Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Socioambientales N.° 17, marzo
2015, pp. 4-28
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