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Illegal dumping is a significant problem for local governments, as much as it is a public health issue, it is a threat to the environment, contaminating soil and nearby waterways. Also, it costs taxpayers millions to prevent, monitor, and clean.
Geometa provides a cost-effective approach to monitor, remove and deter illegal dumping, ensuring cities are safe and clean.
Until recently, on the island of Sakhalin the issue of illegal waste dumps was very relevant.
The solution: in addition to the construction of solid waste disposal facilities, operational monitoring of the newly appeared waste dumps and automatic display of them on the interactive map was organized. In the search for waste dumps, both images from drones and messages from residents are used. Any resident can send a message about the problem via an online portal and social media.
Information about the location, status (valid, overdue), and the date of waste collection is automatically displayed on the map in Geometa. If the deadline is delayed, the checkbox that marks the placement of illegal waste dump turns red. The process of removing illegal waste dumps becomes transparent and can be easily controlled.
The result: During the year, 2,486 waste dumps were removed. Now there are about 370 current ones and operational work is underway on them.
But the best option is to deter the illegal dumping, reducing the cost of cleanup, preventing the toxins from entering the groundwater. Here are the main steps to help deter illegal dumping:
- Educate the residents about the dangers caused by illegal dumping.
- Create safe, public-friendly waste disposal options and advertise them.
- Create laws that impose stiff fines for the perpetrators .
- Use social media for the residents to report a crime.
- Organize a rapid process to clean up the area.
By providing cities with the smart solution to automate monitoring and enforcement of illegal waste dumps, Geometa helps keep cities cleaner and livable.