Classification and effects of urban solid waste in the city of la plata, buenos aires, argentina

Abstract

The generation of urban solid waste is one of the mayor problems today. Firstly, because the volume and composition of waste has been increased and modified by the new style of consumption (organic, paper and glass waste reduced and plastic waste increased) and secondly, because it is a social problem, a product of the economic situation of current neoliberal models. This paper was carried out in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, where landfills of difficult eradication (large scale landfills) and easy eradication (medium and small scale landfills) have been analyzed. As a result, it was determined that the affected population is 46010 inhabitants, of which 46 per cent belong to landfills in floodable areas and 32.45 per cent to landfills in precarious settlements. In the case of landfills that are difficult to eradicate, those that imperiously compromise public health, it was observed that they promote the proliferation of pollut-ing vectors-aquifers and terrestrial, as well as skin and respiratory diseases in children and older adults. The origin thereof, usually caused by system failure comprehensive infrastructure and then, being illegal landfills of public and private use. In this sense, their identification and characterization, as well as the quantity of population and affected area, would allow determining actions for eventual mitigation and / or eradication as part of a comprehensive urban planning plan.