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Wastes:
There are 15 garbage dumps operational in almost every major city. Besides all
district centres are equipped with dump sights. Nevertheless uncontrolled
dumping of municipal garbage lead to worsening of hygienic conditions
throughout the country. According to official estimates the total amount of
solid wastes in 1992 was 64,5 million tons 70% of the total amount (45,2
mill tons comes from the mining industry. Metallurgy , the chemical industry ,
the construction industry and other sectors are responsible for the following
pattern of solid waste generation:
Hydrides-658 tons, Arsenic -containing substances-
1899 tons, Nickel -containing substances-222 tons, Oil containing Substances 70
000 tons, Phenol - containing substances- 226 000 tons, Chrome - containing
substances- 72,6 tons, Pesticides- 2500 tons, Carbon enrichment wastes- 1,3
million tons. 
Legislation
The aim of the waste management in Georgia is to
ensure the protection of public health and environment from harmful impact in
the whole cycle of the existence of wastes - from their origin to final
disposal.
The system of waste management must rely on the main principles, defined in the
“Act on Environmental Protection of Georgia”:
The principle of
risk reduction;
the
principle of sustainability;
the principle of
priority;
the
principle of charged use of nature;
the
protection of biological diversity;
the principle of
minimization of wastes;
the principle of
restitution (restitutio in integrum)
the
principle of environmental impact assessment;
the
principle of public participation in the process of decision-making;
the principle of
availability of information;
the principle of the
Polluter Pays;the principle of
Cleaner Production;
the principle of Environmental Management.
Problems There are
no requirements concerning waste production. Waste is disposed of off-site at
special waste disposal sites. Waste is
incinerated or buried at special waste disposal sites assigned for these
purposes. Utility companies are in charge of utility waste, including
radioactive waste. There is
no regulatory system in operation currently in Georgia for waste storage and
treatment. Permitting requirements are being developed. There are
no specific waste disposal requirements in operation. A mechanism is being
developed that will define the functions of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection as the authority that issues permits and the functions of the
Sanitary and Epidemiological Station as the monitoring authority.
Overall
situation on
main
landfills in Georgia
There
are poorly sited open dumps with unknown capacity with no
planning and site preparation. The sites have no leachate management,
no gas management only occasional cover. There is no compaction of waste; no
record keeping only waste picking and trading.
The sites have
advantage. They are:
easy
access;
“extended” lifetime;
low
initial cost; low initial cost, aerobic decomposition
The
sites cause: eenvironmental
contamination; overuse, many noxious sites; environmental. Contamination;
unsightly need remediation; water contamination; risk of explosion, GHGs
vectors/disease, unsightly.
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