Waste dumps in Ljubljana

Studies made so far on illegal waste dumps in Ljubljansko polje, Iški vršaj and in the areas of local water resources in the Municipality of Ljubljana (MOL) have exposed the presence of larger quantities of waste. Illegal waste dumps are a great hazard for drinking water in water pumping stations supplying MOL. The waste dumps are generally located in areas where the current of groundwater flows towards water pumping stations and where the Sava and Iška river flow into the groundwater. The high level of groundwater and the presence of gravel pits increase the environment vulnerability.

In the illegal waste dumping grounds various worn-out things can be found.

Inventory objects on the field. (Figure in high resolution)

In the studied water protection areas and drinking water protection zones we located and examined 1586 illegal waste dumps: 1445 were sighted in Ljubljansko polje, 104 in Iški vršaj and further 37 in the areas of local water resources. Their total surface area is 128.056 m2 and their volume 220.071 m3, while the average waste dump covers 80,7 m2 and contains 138,8 m3 of waste material. Studied areas however differ greatly from each other, particularly the areas of local water resources, which include the smallest sites (47,5 m2) regarding the average surface coverage and the largest sites (185,1 m3) regarding the average volume. Furthermore we located 100 gravel pits, 58 notice sign posts and 57 obstacles.

Structure of the waste.(Figure in high resolution)

Two thirds (66,7 %) of the waste are construction material, followed by 18,7 % of primary waste. 11,2 % of the waste is municipal and 2,2 % industrial, while the percentage of waste from healthcare and veterinary activities is negligible (0,2 %). Hazardous waste amounts to a seventh (13,5 %) with a total volume of 29.799 m3 and mainly consists of construction material (84,6 %) and partly of industrial material (9,9 %).

More than a third (35,6 %) of waste dumps is still fully active, slightly less are inactive, while the rest are partly active or passive. This indicates that waste material disposal is taking place rather intensively.

Roof-tiles containing asbestos are considered hazardous waste.

The examination and the analyses of waste samples show a small amount of hazardous substances, although some of them represent a risk to groundwater quality particularly through organic substance contamination. On the basis of results from groundwater monitoring we cannot detect hazardous substances being washed out of illegal dumps. This suggests that a simple and an inexpensive rehabilitation of the degraded areas could be carried out to improve its quality.

Priority groups of dump rehabilitation. (Figure in high resolution)

Gradually a complete rehabilitation of all illegal waste dumps will be needed, however the large amount of waste makes it unrealistic to expect this to be achieved all at once. Based on four different content aspects (the vulnerability of the area, the level of burdening, the aesthetic aspect of burdening and the field predicament of possible rehabilitation) we prioritized the rehabilitation. The first priority group includes 77 dumps, the second 260, the third 538, the fourth 522 and the fifth 189 dumps.

In many places illegal waste dumping can be prevented by setting up some simple obstacles.

Monography Illegal waste dumps in the Ljubljana Plain