OBITUARY OF LANDFILLS

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deonar_dumping_ground#/media/File:Mumbai_oli_2016028.jpg

Earlier this year in January, during my regular jog in the morning, the air quality wasn't quite conducive to run. I wondered what changed the weather so drastically. Apparently a fire had broken out in a landfill near Mumbai. The fire broke out at around 3.00 am and within 12 hours the entire city was under smoke. Schools were shut for next few days. Predominantly asthma patients suffered severely during the time. Again, in March another fire broke out. This time the central government woke up to the grave issue and only due to a local political ruckus, the landfill was declared prohibited area. Only no tress passing but not a shut down.

The landfills are popularly known as dumping grounds in India. The particular dumping ground in Mumbai where the fire broke out is the oldest and largest dumping ground in India, set up in 1927. The dumping ground is surviving for close to 9 decades. There have been attempts to bring a shut down on Deonar dumping ground for several years due environmental issues. In February 2012, the local municipal corporation sought permission from Aviation Ministry to increase the height to 164 feet . In 2014 the the waste had reached a height of 18 storey building.The state government attempted to shut down a part of it to generate methane and buy carbon credits. Today, in spite of all the tell - tell signs of environmental issues, the dumping ground is still operational without any hard measures taken to tackle the problem. Though local authorities play a big part in the functioning and monitoring of dumping grounds, some queries regarding dumping ground are still beyond my understanding....

How long can a dumping ground survive? What is the lifespan of a dumping ground? What are the indicators for the closure of a dumping ground? clearly breaking fire is an indicator but what are the other pre indicators?

After doing some research on the internet I found there are different theories and practices involved with dumping grounds. Bad economy is good for life expectancy of landfill. People buy less and produce less waste. So reducing waste is a theory to increase the life expectancy of dumping grounds. Some practices of dumping ground in the US which started in 1950s are dumping more waste than before. Some practices in the U.S. have a life expectancy of 30-50 years. Weight is a primary factor in how long a dump yard will remain open. Dumping grounds have maximum weight limit each year. 

But when do you stop trashing the dump yard? How do you know the tipping point of landfills? These are some of the questions Mumbai municipal corporation need to ponder on and come up with solutions. 

Reference:

http://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/another-fire-at-mumbais-deonar-dumping-ground-shiv-sena-alleges-conspiracy-1289453

http://classroom.synonym.com/long-average-landfill-open-7103.html