Expansion for the Vega Baja Municipal Landfill

Abstract

One of the main environmental problems in the island of Puerto Rico is the disposal of solid waste. In the island we have a total of 28 landfills. Most of the landfills in Puerto Rico were constructed before 1970, which means that they were created without any environmental conscience. The landfills in Puerto Rico are considered open dumps, meaning that the waste is collected in a designated area without any environmental control. All of the landfills in Puerto Rico are contaminating soils, water, air and impacting the environment. When we analyze this problem the solution that can come to mind could be the closure of the landfill, but this will create a worse scenario. If there are no landfills in the islands, people will begin to create clandestine landfill, and will throw their waste in any place they want. For this reason we are proposing the expansion and recollection of leachate of the Vega Baja Municipal Landfill. The expansion of the landfill will be designed with the requirements for compliance and financial resources.