Application of a decision support tool for municipal solid waste open dumps remediation in Cape Verde

Abstract

Open dumps are places where solid waste is disposed directly on the ground, without any environmental assessment, resulting in environmental, societal and economic damages. In Cape Verde, most of the municipalities dispose their solid waste on open dumps. Cape Verde's new policies on solid waste management determined the closure and the remediation of all the dumps around the country. In this context, this research diagnosed the conditions of tree dumps in Santiago Island and one dump in Fogo Island, in order to rank them for remediation priorities. Also, remediation scenarios and actions for each of the dumps were proposed, using Decision Support Tools (DST). Data were collected by visiting the dumps and applying field questionnaires. The results demonstrated a similarity between Santiago’s open dumps (Santa Cruz, Santa Catarina and Praia Municipal Dumps), having a "Medium" impact level. São Felipe Municipal Dump located in Fogo Island has the highest impact level and it is the priority for remediation actions. The decision support tool usage proved to be an important instrument to aid decision making for managing areas contaminated by Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Cape Verde.