A serious situation regarding waste disposal is making noise in Brazil. São Paulo dumps 58 tons of waste in the rivers and tributaries of the Alto Tietê Basin.
The amount is equivalent to the content of about six regular garbage trucks that end up daily in the bodies of water of the richest and most urbanized region of the country.
São Paulo dumps 58 tons of waste into the river: the problem
This huge volume of urban solid waste (USW) includes both waste thrown directly into the streams and tributaries of the region and those improperly disposed in streets and parks. What happens in these cases is that wind and rain carry them into the water.
Dangerous waste pollution in São Paulo. (Photo: Folha de São Paulo.)[/caption>
This inadequate waste disposal is part of the equation that causes serious flooding during heavy rains, like the ones that hit the São Paulo capital on Friday.
The report
The data was not known until now, and it was revealed by the local media Folha. They are part of a study commissioned by Fabhat (High Tietê River Basin Agency Foundation), the executive arm of the CBH-AT (High Tietê River Basin Committee).
The study was funded by Fehidro (State Water Resources Fund) because it was identified that the presence of waste in the bodies of water was so significant that it became a major problem for the basin. Carried out by Envex Engenharia e Consultoria, it generated an integrated waste management plan for the region.
“This waste ends up in the basin reservoirs, causing potential structural impacts, in addition to the environmental impacts as a whole,” explained environmental engineer Helder Nocko, one of the study’s authors. “We installed eco barriers in representative rivers of the region to retain and identify waste,” he added.
The consequences of river pollution
The dangers of water pollution.
River and sea pollution can have serious consequences for human health, the environment, and biodiversity:
Human health
- Transmission of infectious diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, dysentery, and poliomyelitis, among others.
- Diseases caused by heavy metals, which can lead to tumors or degenerative conditions.
Environment and biodiversity
- Alteration of the food chain, as the living organisms inhabiting the water are the first to die.
- Reduction and disappearance of biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems.
- Pollution of marine ecosystems.
- Species loss.
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