Work to remove illegally deposited waste in the municipality of Ožďany, in central Slovakia, is helping to improve the environment and the health of residents. The project focused on the rehabilitation of a number of illegal landfills and on reducing their adverse impact on local people, especially 257 residents from the Roma community. Additionally, one job was created for a Roma resident to manage the cleaned-up sites.
- 24 July 2020
Illegal landfills negatively affect people’s health and the environment. The scheme to remove waste at Ožďany is therefore a positive step forward for the local community.
Despite the municipality’s attempts to create conditions for proper waste management in Ožďany, illegal landfills were a long-term problem before this project was completed. The sites in question are located in the areas of Antalka sad, Ožďany radar and Silage pit. Together, these illegal landfills contained about 566 tonnes of waste.
Vital work
Illegal landfills are hazardous to the environment: chemicals and elements that are not degradable can be released into the soil. Substances that penetrate the soil in this way can contaminate groundwater. Therefore, the Ožďany landfills had to be removed, otherwise they would have caused more serious environmental, social and economic problems.
Health hazards
Many local residents are from the disadvantaged and marginalised Roma community and the waste dumps were near their homes. These landfills represented an environmental burden and a significant risk to the community and the health of the population.
Ožďany is in the south of the Central Slovak region. Specifically, it lies in the south-western part of the Rimavská Sobota district – between the towns of Lučenec and Rimavská Sobota – in the Banská Bystrica self-governing region.
Ožďany sits at an altitude of 217 m, and its cadastral area includes several surrounding settlements such as Čierna Lúka, Mlynárky, Antalka and Tehno.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Waste collection yard in Ožďany” is EUR 61 238, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 52 052 through the “Human Resources” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Technical facilities in municipalities with high share of marginalised Roma communities”.