The report has been presented today at the ISWA World Congress in Antwerp, Belgium. This excellent research done by ISWA???s STC Chair and Board Member Antonis Mavropoulos for the first time lays out how untreated waste is today leading to premature deaths, ill-health and stunted growth among millions of people. It is a condemning report, because no international aid, no international focus, is being made on this issue. And dumpsites are growing in size and number as cities grow in developing countries. They represent the most polluted sites on earth.
A dumpsite in Mumbai, India recently caught fire. This is the largest dumpsite in the city which receives over 4,000 tonnes of waste each day, so large that the fire could be seen from space. You can see the NASA’S satellite images in this fascinating video recently published by CNN. This emphasises the report’s call for immediate action to combat the serious human and environmental health risks posed by dumpsites.
