UNAUTHORIZED LANDFILLS ON THE TERRITORY OF THE VOLGOGRAD REGION: INITIAL DATA TO PREVENT ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Abstract

Places of unauthorized disposal of production and consumption waste have a significant aberrant effect on environmental components. The formation of an orderly organized system of waste management of production and consumption, including their collection, transportation, neutralization, processing, disposal and disposal, has been one of the most acute environmental problems in the Volgograd region in recent years. This is due to a significant increase in the volume of waste disposed, as well as the territorial specifics of the problem associated with the fact that the bulk of industrial waste is generated in a relatively small number of regions, that is, in the locations of chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical and some other industries and mining areas. All unauthorized landfills require an individual decision when choosing the direction of reclamation, as well as the overall strategic direction of development. The article reveals the essential characteristics of the problem of unauthorized landfills in the Volgograd region as one of the global environmental problems of the region. Data on the distribution of unauthorized landfills on the territory of the Volgograd region are presented, a comparative analysis of landfills in the region by the area of the cluttered territory and the volume of waste disposed is carried out, the law of distribution of the areas of unauthorized landfills is applied. Possible causes of a significant number of unauthorized landfills on the territory of the Volgograd region have been identified. Unauthorized landfills of production and consumption waste on the territory of the Volgograd region for 2021 are also analyzed from the point of view of the law of distribution of the areas of unauthorized landfills, allocated in the form of three clusters: small, medium and large landfills, histograms and theoretical curves are constructed. Based on the study, conclusions were formed about the distribution of large, small and medium-sized landfills in the Volgograd region.

Subject of research: distribution of unauthorized landfills on the territory of the Volgograd region.

Materials and methods: The analysis of unauthorized landfills on the territory of the Volgograd region from the point of view of identifying patterns of their distribution by administrative-territorial units of the region. To establish the law of distribution of landfill areas, normal, lognormal, mixed Gaussian laws and Johnson's law were checked. When considering all landfills as a single sample, it was not possible to establish the distribution law, therefore, three types of clusters were identified during the study: small, medium and large landfills.

Results: A generalized analysis of the distribution of unauthorized landfills on the territory of the Volgograd region reveals the absence of a direct relationship between the volume of waste disposed, the area of the unauthorized landfill and their quantity. It can be seen that especially high indicators of the average and total volume of waste dumps are observed in Volgograd. It can be noted a significant decrease in the total area of unauthorized waste dumps on the territory of the districts of the Volgograd region in 2021 compared to 2020, especially significantly during the period under review, the total volume of landfills, as well as the total area of landfills, decreased. These calculations indicate positive changes in the organization of work with unauthorized landfills in the region. Based on the analysis of unauthorized landfills from the point of view of distribution laws, the results were obtained, according to which small landfills are described by a mixed Gaussian distribution, medium landfills – by a logonormal distribution, large landfills – by a normal distribution.

Conclusions: The results obtained during the study allow us to conclude about a large number of small landfills on the territory of administrative-territorial units of the region. At the same time, medium and large landfills are also represented on the territory of most regions of the region. It should also be noted that the results of the study may allow local governments to plan a strategy to combat unauthorized landfills, as well as the budget for their elimination. With a large number of small landfills in the regions of the region, the process of their prompt liquidation is difficult, due to the need to develop a reclamation project, survey work, and measures for the disposal of exported waste for each of these landfills, which creates time costs. In this regard, with equal volumes, several small landfills require more time and financial costs for liquidation than one large one.