VOA: Polluted waters in Erzen, from waste in Sharre

2023-06-29 22:33:25, Denoncim CNA

The concessionary company that manages the waste disposal in Sharre near Tirana does not treat the polluted water from the decomposition of urban waste, but discharges it into the Erzen river - causing, according to experts, long-term consequences for the environment and the community of the area.

This material was prepared as part of the cooperation of the Balkan Network of Investigative Journalism with the Voice of America.

"Draining the black water" is a figurative expression, which according to the dictionary of the Albanian language means destruction. But this canal with black water and the smell of decay is not figurative.

It descends from the Sharra landfill on the outskirts of Tirana and flows about one kilometer below into the Erzen River. Environmental experts call it leachate – or dirty, untreated water that is caused by the process of decomposing urban waste.

"Lixiviate has two main characteristics, the first is that it has a high biochemical demand for oxygen and the moment it comes into contact with surface water bodies, it damages them excessively. And the second has a high concentration of organic carbon, as part of the decomposition process there is a high concentration of nitrogen, there is a high concentration of toxins and the most harmful, there is a high presence of heavy metals".

The Waste Landfill in Sharre is managed by the concessionaire company of the Albanian government, Integrated Energy BV SPV and collects the urban waste of the most populated area of ??Albania - including Tirana and Durrës.

Although it is under investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office as part of the incinerator affair, the Albanian government has insisted on continuing payments to the company Integrated Energy. The company has so far received about 60 million euros through the waste deposit fee from the district municipalities, but the incinerator has not been built yet.

In January 2022, the National Environment Agency inspected Sharra's landfill concessionaire and found that it did not treat wastewater from the decomposition of waste, but discharged it in an uncontrolled manner.

"The entity discharges into the receiving water environment in an uncontrolled manner polluted waters (liquids) resulting from the waste decomposition process in the landfill. The entity has not installed and commissioned the liquid waste treatment plant".

According to the inspection report, the Agency ordered the suspension of liquid discharges until the plant is put into operation and fined the company 1 million Lek for administrative violations.

But the footage filmed by BIRN in early June shows that a year and a half after the inspection by the National Environment Agency, black water or leachate continues to flow from the hill where the piles of urban waste are deposited.

Although it flows into a murky river, the polluted water of the Sharra landfill is still visible to the naked eye in Erzen.

The National Environment Agency told BIRN in response to a request for information that it was not aware if the company had taken action, as it had not carried out a second monitoring. The agency also said that the fine of 1 million lek was in the process of being executed.

The head of the Agency, Arta Dollani, and the Minister of Environment, Mirela Kumbaro, did not accept requests for an interview on the pollution caused by the concessionary company of the Sharra landfill. Integrated Energy also did not respond to BIRN's questions.

Residents who live near the banks of Erzen say that they use the water for irrigation, even though they see the pollution with their own eyes.

"The most critical point is after July, when the river decreases and gives the effect. Water turns red, turns black, is no longer used for irrigation. Now it is used because there is a lot of water, it is dirty, but because there is a lot of water, the pollution seems less. This water runs all the way to Shijak to the greenhouses, but pollution is pollution, we cannot say that it does no harm".

Environmental activists are concerned that these waters not only pollute the Erzen River, but return to the residents' tables through the products they consume.

"Here we have another problem that the water of Erzen, where these polluted waters are discharged, is used by the residents of the area for irrigation. This then affects the food chain, as it passes from irrigation to plants, and then to the human food chain. All the more that we have large quantities of production in this area".

According to experts, the pollution caused by the Sharra landfill exposes the lame system of monitoring and punishing environmental crimes in Albania.

"The fact that the company in question pays a million old lek for a pollution that went 10 times or 100 times more in cost, makes him as an economic operator very happy and orients him to choose the cheapest opportunity costs, that is, to pollute the environment and pay a reasonable fine rather than operating the water treatment plant, which will have higher costs".

The experts also said that the case constitutes a very serious violation of the environmental standard in Albania with long-term consequences for the environment and people's health./ VOA