Landfill Collapse, La Liga Affected

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Since La Liga season is ongoing right now, it is a good opportunity to talk about a pollutive event that occurred in 2020, which resulted in postponement of games. A few weeks before the football game between Eibar and Real Sociedad, a landfill holding thousands of tonnes of industrial waste collapsed in Basque, an autonomous community in Spain. Two workers were declared missing and presumed dead following this, while a few fires also broke out near the town of Zaldibar, sparking not just town-wide but nation-wide concerns as toxic pollutants significantly contaminate the air (Hedgecoe, 2020). Reportedly, the quality of the air was found to be 40 times more toxic than usual levels following the incident. This is likely to be from the burning of plastics or materials which release Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP). Several water supplies were also contaminated with industrial chemicals, including ammonia. Locals in nearby towns Ermua and Eibar, where the football game was supposed to be held, were advised to stay home and to reduce exposure to the hazy air as much as possible (Hedgecoe, 2020).

Smoke over Zaldibar from landfill fires. 
Source: Vincent West, REUTERS 

A year later, the owners of the Verter Recycling Company responsible for the management of the landfill were charged with reckless homicide (Archyde, 2021). This decision was also supported by the Basque Government. However, the question of how to avoid this issue in the future remains. Similarly, Singapore also faces a pressing concern of Pulau Semakau being the sole location for our landfills, which means that it is bound to overfill sooner or later, unless waste is being managed more effectively. There are several initiatives which the government encourages the public to undertake, and attempts at getting the public (and corporations) to reduce waste as shown in the video below. But it is undeniable that to reduce waste and consumption following the increase of purchasing power and economic growth is difficult. 

Source: Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, 2020

References: 

Archyde. (2021, February 6). A year of hard struggle against the mountain after the collapse of the Zaldibar landfill. Archyde. https://www.archyde.com/a-year-of-hard-struggle-against-the-mountain-after-the-collapse-of-the-zaldibar-landfill/

Chapman, A. (2020, February 15). Eibar vs Real Sociedad postponed over toxic pollution after landfill site collapses ‘killing two workers'. The Sun. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10970898/eibar-real-sociedad-postponed-landfill-collapse-toxic-pollution/

Hedgecoe, G. (2020, February 19). Basque landfill accident leaves two missing, health fears. The Irish Times. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/basque-landfill-accident-leaves-two-missing-health-fears-1.4178738

Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. (2019, February 18). Save Semakau - Our Only Landfill [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_iDuwjkgK4&t=6s&ab_channel=MinistryofSustainabilityandtheEnvironment

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