Recultivation of Solid Waste Dump Sites13 March 2009
The recultivation of closed municipal dump sites in over 40 settlements in the area operated by the Association of Municipalities for the Solid Waste Management of Győr Region will be implemented with the help of funding amounting to nearly 5.2 billion HUF made available by the New Hungary Development Plan.
The objective of the developments outlined in the Environment and Energy Operational Programme is to reduce the environmental problems Hungary experiences, hence improving the quality of life of Hungarian society and adapting the economy to environmental processes. Switching over to preventive environmental protection is a key means of interventions aimed at sustaining a favourable environmental state.
The concerned parties signed the assistance contract on the funding of the project called "Regional recultivation programmes concerning municipal solid waste dump sites" to be implemented in the area operated by the Association of Municipalities for the Solid Waste Management of Győr Region on 13 March.
A total of 43 municipal dump sites lacking the necessary engineering protection and failing to comply with environmental protection requirements will be neutralised and shut down in 42 settlements as an outcome of the nearly 5.2 billion HUF recultivation project.
This is an important and major environmental protection task, since 12 of the dump sites in the settlements immediately affected are located on properties within the municipal boundaries of the given settlement, or immediately adjacent to this area, 8 dump sites have been built on high-risk pollution-prone areas, whilst 2 dump sites are located on drinking water protection areas. The population of the 42 settlements directly affected by the recultivation project is nearly 200,000, which represents 74% of the total population living in the area operated by the Association.
It will also be possible to substantially reduce the pollution of surface and sub-surface waters with the help of this recultivation project. Covering dump sites and making them blend into the landscape will increase the value of the municipal and natural environment.
It will be possible to significantly reduce environmental risks caused by the nearly 5.8 million cubic metres of waste dumped by implementing this project. 17 of the settlements integrated in the development are located in disadvantaged micro-regions, and the dump sites to be recultivated also affect areas designated as protected areas valuable in terms of nature protection.