31 / 92
31
1999
2008
2005
2002
16
12
8
4
0
Number of Days
Number of days
of landfill blockade
due to protests
1987
1999
1999
2003
2009
2010
2015
2016
K’ara K’ara landfill established
Residents’ protests and landfill blockade
Revealed groundwater contamination
Improved infrastructure around landfill
--> Increasing urban development
Government mandates landfill closure
Landfill closure not enforced
Local authorities mandate landfill closure - closure not enforced
Landfill fire – air pollution affects 2000 families
Sources: Ghielmi G. & et al (2008) Diagnóstico sobre el nivel de
contaminación de acuíferos en el distrito 9,
Acta Nova
(4)1; Valderrama G.
(2010) El botadero de Kjara-Kjara: Un foco de contaminación que genera
conflictos sociales y compensaciones urbanísticas,
Medio Ambiente y
Urbanización
71(1); Environmental Justice Atlas,
https://ejatlas.org/1 km
High risk of contamination
of groundwater
Built up area
Elevation
Seasonal stream
River / Canal
Cochabamba
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
K’ara K’ara
landfill
TIMELINE OF
K’ARA K’ARA LANDFILL
COCHABAMBA - BOLIVIA
2700
2700
2700
2600
2600
2600
2600
2700
2700
2800
2800
2800
2900
2800
2700
Reducing volumes of waste and promoting source separation
Swisscontact has made a significant contribution to
addressing thewaste problem inCochabamba.Their activities
have included the implementation of separate collection
schemes in Cochabamba neighbourhoods, operated by
informal recyclers and supervised by the neighbourhood
council. The project demonstrated the economic potential
of solid waste by establishing new structures for collection,
treatment and recycling. A 50 per cent reduction of mixed
waste was realized in one district and separation at source
was included in SWM plans. (Rodic, 2015a)
Collection routes were also established for informal
recyclers, with households separating recyclables and
passing them on. This programme allowed waste pickers
to generate an income of about 1,200 Bolivian Boliviano
per month (175 USD) and contributed to higher recycling
rates as well as an acknowledgement of the role of informal
waste pickers. This programme is now integrated into the
municipality’s waste management system. Between 2009
and 2012, a total of 443 jobs were created, 29,000 tons of
solid waste were collected and treated, and information on
the separation of waste at source was provided to 475,000
households (Rodic, 2015a).
Bolivia is making a concerted effort to move away from
dumping and landfilling, towards initiatives that focus on
small-scale open air composting of organic waste. Municipal
waste trucks have started to collect organics, recyclables and
residual waste separately, and private recycling companies
are emerging which use materials from industry and storage
centres (they receive materials from waste pickers). The
future of the Bolivian waste market appears to be positive
– with new investments and initiatives, and good intentions
are all around (BreAd B.V. and MetaSus, 2015). In 2012, Bolivia
invested USD 20 million in waste management (Environment
News Service, 2012) and the growth in demand for waste is
estimated to be 1 per cent per year (BreAd B.V. and MetaSus,
2015). Although these numbers are promising, efforts
are still small-scale and scattered, and new initiatives are
needed. Opportunities exist for private companies (which
already play an important role in waste collection and
operation services) to engage in waste management (for
example, biogas production) and cooperation is needed to
make waste composting and sanitary landfills more viable.
These developments will create a more effective waste
management system, which may increase the willingness of
the population to pay for waste services.